The Devil isn't done yet!
by kiwimaou
Summary: The Devil hasn't changed since he arrived on Earth, and though Emilia may try to stop him, he will finish what he started. Rated T for language, mild gore and certain *ahem* themes. May change to R in the future.
1. Chapter 1: The Battle of Ente Isla

**Introduction & Prologue**

**Author's Note: Hi guys! This is my first fanfiction so I hope you like it. I know those words can be a red flag for many people but if you guys give me a chance it would be greatly appreciated! This story will be sort of similar to the original but more action-y and a slight change to Maou's personality. Enjoy! **

_In the great sea of Ignora lies a set of five islands in the shape of the holy cross. Four pointed in each cardinal direction, followed by the largest island in the center. These Islands formed Ente Isla, the land watched over by the gods. All who lived here knew of the demon lord, Satan, who's name came to be synonymous with the terror and cruelty that was inflicted under his rule. He was the Devil, the ruler of demons, the king who's subjects were horrific creatures of the night. Satan's ambition was to conquer the human's world, to subjugate the humans and create a land for his kind to dominate in prosperity. At his command were the four great demon generals: Adramelech, the brute, Lucifer, the fallen angel, Alciel, the loyal provisions expert, and Malacoda, the dark sorcerer. These generals each launched their own attack on an island. The humans, of course, fought back, but they were losing. Until a lone hero, holy sword raised, rallied the human army and brought them to victory, reclaiming each island under, along with killing every general that got in her way._

Flashes of light and sounds of destruction and siege could be heard around the Devil's castle, the sound of walls caving in, pillars callapsing and roars of rage as enemies fought one another.

The Hero and her comrades after 6 weeks had finally fought their way to the top of the castle, and were currently battling the remaining occupants, The Devil and his last remaining general.

Albertio was one of the hero's comrades, he was a brawling type, and had the strength to back it up. But even he was overwhelmed as his body was hurled through one of the castle's towers, at the hands of the demon general Alciel.

Luckily he had backup. Alciel noticed her presence and looked up, a smirk spreading across his face. "_A mere child. I almost feel bad. Almost." _It was true, at first glance Emeralda simply appeared to be a short green haired girl, not much older than 11 or 12, this led to her enemies underestimating her, something each and every one came to realize as a mistake. Alciel was no exception. He was caught off guard when the small girl cast an advanced spell, however his surprise hadn't even begun when he suddenly was encased as a statue. But Alciel was stronger than that. It was Emeralda's turn to be surprised as Alciel suddenly broke free of his stone prison, immediately launching a counter-attack at her in the form of a terrible beam of darkness. The blast knocked her out of the sky, barely being saved be Albertio as she nearly plummeted onto one of the tower's pikes.

**Meanwhile in the throne room, a much more one-sided battle was taking place between the high priest Olba and the Devil.**

Olba yelled as he launched a wave of magic at the Devil, who casually sat on his throne waiting for the attack. The wave was well aimed, and appeared to had found it's target. Or so Olba thought. He immediately realized how wrong he was as he looked up to see the Devil already above him, but it was too late as Satan had already charged his attack. Olba was shot into the ground creating a pit in the center of the room with the groaning priest lying in the center, his old bones aching from the devastating blow.

"_I'm getting too old for this."_ Olba thought to himself. "_**Yes, yes you are. Though age isn't everything. I'm far older that you human.**_" Olba panicked as he heard Satan's mocking voice in his own thoughts. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Olba screamed as clapped his hands over his temples in frustration.

"_**No, I think I'll enjoy toying with your mind, little human.**_" The Devil's fun was cut short however, when in a flash the Hero dashed at Satan sword-first. Satan's reflexes were far faster however, managing to dodge in the last second, and within a moment countering with a quick beam of hellfire. She managed to block the blast with her sword, however it still was powerful enough to knock her back a few feet. Doing a mid-air recovery, she immediately dashed forward again, this time aiming for the Devil's head. Once again Satan barely managed to get out of the way, staying true to the repetition as he launched another beam of hellfire straight at her, forcing her to once again interrupt her dash with a block of her sword. She was prepared for it this time, and wasn't knocked back at all. Taking advantage of this, she decided to take the demon king by surprise. Once again she dashed forward, Satan smirking as he launched yet another beam and watched as she was knocked back by it. Satan's smirk slowly disappeared disappeared. "_Why didn't she try to block it this time…"_ The demon king got his answer when in an instant, the Hero launched herself to her feet, followed by a magic-infused slash of her sword, sending a ranged wave that was aimed straight for the demon king's face. Satan surprised at this, immediately attempted to dodge the attack.

Once the smoke settled Satan Realized his reaction wasn't quick enough. He managed to avoid his face getting hit, but at the cost of one of his horns, being sliced off a few inches from it's base. The Devil, seeing this, only laughed.

"You're a worthy opponent, but it will take more than the loss of a _horn_ to kill me, human." The Devil stated mockingly. The Hero was about to reply when suddenly Albertio and Emeralda burst through one of the windows, standing behind their comrade as they helped Olba to his feet.

Alciel followed suit, landing behind the Devil. Noticing the loss of his master's horn the demon general quickly begged to know if he was alright. "Yes I'm fine, do not think me so weak as to be affected by the loss of a simple _horn_, Alciel." The Devil replied, disturbed by his general's lack of faith.

"Forgive me sire, I meant no disrespect!" Alciel replied desperately.

Their conversation was ended when the Hero suddenly threw her blade, aiming it straight for Satan's ribcage. When it seemed that the blade was just about to hit it's mark, a dark chuckle could be heard emitting from the Devil. Almost instantaneously, the demon king plucked the sword out of the air, taking a second to admire it's craftsmanship.

"Ahhh, I see. This blade is holy. Quite literally the work of an Angel." Satan mused, his voice suddenly seeming crueler when he said the word angel. Satan, seeing the sword start to steam in his grip, through the sword back at it's owner, who plucked it out of the sky in the same manner the Devil did.

Alciel had enjoyed the display, but remembered the situation. "My lord, our forces are diminished, they killed off the last of our army on the way up the castle." This brought a frown to Satan's brow. "I suggest we retreat, and try to rebuild our forces." Alciel continued, earning a small nod from the demon king. "I never Imagined a mere human could force us into such a situation. Dispicable." Satan replied, in a dark tone.

"**NO**!" the yell emitting from the Hero's helmet. With that she lifted up her sword, channeling celestial force, she prepared to land one final blow with all her might. Her comrades followed suit, Emeralda conjuring a bow, Albertio preparing to pounce, and Olba preparing a seal to launch a ranged flood.

"**DIE, DEMON KING**!" The hero yelled as she launched her attack, followed by all the other's. Satan was cornered. He knew there was only one thing he could do. With all his stamina, he launched himself through his castle wall, barely avoiding the lethal blow.

The Devil stood hovering in the sky, making sure his voice could be heard by all.

_**"HUMANS! TONIGHT, I SHALL LEAVE ENTE ISLA IN YOUR HANDS." **_The devil paused as he stretched out his bat-like wings. _**"BUT I SHALL RETURN! TO SUBJUGATE YOU, AND ALL OF ENTE ISLA!" **_

As he spoke his final words, a dark vortex formed behind the demon king, he then finished his sentence, and suddenly disappeared through the unholy portal, followed by his general Alciel.

As the two demon disappeared, cries of triumph could be heard throughout the continent, but none would be heard from the Hero. No, she would follow him, she would find him. _He would NOT get away from her that easy._

**Author's note: This was a re-write. The original was short poor and bland in my taste so I completely rewrote it. Hope you enjoyed this first chapter!**

**Well thats it for the prologue. The next chapter will be Satan and Alciel arriving in Tokyo, aswell as meeting Emi. It will probably be longer than this one. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, leave a review. I want to know exactly what I can improve on, so I can make this the best it can be. This was my first fanfiction, at first I was a little hesitant but it was kinda fun! If you guys like it I'll try to update as much as I can. CYA!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Devil Arrives

**Authors Note: Here's Chapter 2! I'll try to improve the quality of the writing on this one. : / **

Shinjuku was as noisy as ever.

It was a typical night, people were still on the sidewalks, and there was little to no absence of noise save for a quiet alleyway who's only occupancy was a scavenging cat.

That was, until a sudden roar of thunder could be heard as the gate opened, roughly depositing the two demons onto the hard cement.

The demons managed to stand, both exhausted from their battle and use of the gate.

"We've arrived" Satan noted, picking himself off his feet, grunting with the effort. "We should first find a place to heal."

Alciel agreed, standing up "But it will be hard to find, this place is rather noi- SIRE!? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THAT FORM!?" Alciel screamed noticing the drastic change in stature of his lord.

The demon king, glaring down at his form, was just as suprised. "These are... human hands?" he replied in a cruel, disgusted tone, noticing his lack of claws and hooves. But his thoughts were interrupted when two humans dressed in uniform called out to them, speaking in a strange language.

"Aren't they hot, wearing those outfits?" The first officer said, baffled at the strangle clothing the two wore.

"They're 'cosplaying' sir. It's weird though, you don't see much of it in this neighborhood." The second officer replied, also quite curious as to what the inspiration for such outfits would be.

Satan simply stared at the two officers as they approached, quietly taking notes on their expressions, trying to read their intent. So far, it didn't seem like they were hostile. He allowed himself a sigh of relief, he was the devil, but in this state even he was in no mood for a fight.

One of the officers walked up to the pair, saying something neither demon could understand, though Alciel didn't like his tone.

"Do not speak to me so familiarly, human!" he growled, he was the great demon general Alciel, he demanded far more respect, especially from a lowly human.

Satan noticed this and frowned as he saw Alciel prepare to attack. But, oddly enough, he didn't. Alciel merely stood there, a puzzled expression on his face as he tried to cast a devastating spell, but to no avail. Alciel stared at his palms in surprise. There was nothing, not so much as a spark.

Satan was disturbed. Why would the gate bring them here, of all places. Why bring them to this bright, noisy world? Where was their magic? And also, the thing that troubled the demon king most, _why were they in HUMAN forms? _

As one of the officers attempted to approach the pondering devil, Satan looked up and glared at the man, his red eyes glowing with a dark, terrible magic. "Stop." The demon king commanded. The officer, not knowing why, suddenly obeyed. Questioning what happened to his superior, the second officer went up and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, sarge, are you o-" the second officer was then interrupted as the strange boy glared at him aswell. "Silence."

"H-hai." The officer obeyed. Satan, pleased with the effect and knowledge he still had some magic, walked up to the man. "You will tell me everything I need to know." With each and every step the strange boy took, the officer felt his vision fading, fading, until all he could see was blackness.

_A couple weeks later..._

The Devil and his general were finally starting to get used to this strange human society. After the interrogation with the two humans, the demon king was able to learn the japanese language and basic knowledge of the world he had arrived in. Apparently they had arrived on a planet known as _Earth_. More specifically, the city of Tokyo located on a small archipelago known to the humans as Japan. The two demons had managed themselves a base of operations, a small measly apartment. They had also acquired aliases. The Devil was now known as _Sadao Maou_, while Alciel had chosen the name of _Shiro Ashiya. _After several failed attempts Maou had secured himself a job, working part-time at a fast-food restaurant known as _MgRonalds_ he was quite proud of this, he did not yet know of the poor social stature being a working there entitled him to. Alciel *ahem* _Ashiya_, had decided to remain at the apartment, taking care of their base of operations, allowing himself the occasional leave to research possibilities of re-acquiring their magic. He became vigorously displeased when he learned of the stature of his lord in a human book known as _the bible, _his king being second to God. Oddly enough, they had also confused lucifer for his lord. "Filthy, stupid humans." the disguised demon growled.

"I'm off to work, Ashiya!" Maou yelled as he exited the apartment, preparing to jump onto his bike _dullahan. _

"Wait, sire!" Ashiya called out, umbrella in hand.

Maou took said umbrella and once again bolted off down the street, attempting to once again make record-time to work.

Maou was suddenly at the corner of a light, umbrella opened. "_Thanks Ashiya"_ The Devil thought,

glad his most resourceful general was the one to come with him.

His thoughts were interrupted when he found himself at the corner of a light, a petite woman running in his direction, desperately shielding herself from the rain with her belongings. Maou saw this and, surprisingly enough, offered his umbrella to the young lady.

Since he had arrived on Earth, the demon king had displayed a different side of his personality. Despite being the Devil, he _did_ have some good in him, but he also knew that in this society, he would excel by being respectful and kind, especially to strangers. Allowing his true personality to surface only when it could be justified.

The young woman simply looked at the man offering her his umbrella, Maou noticed a quick, small hint of surprise... no, thats wasn't it. _Regonition_, the demon king noted, strangely feeling a stroke of it himself.

"_Whatever_" Maou thought to himself. He must of been mistaken. He hardly knew anybody in this strange world besides Ashiya and a few of his coworkers.

"Here take it, really, its ok" Maou stated kindly. "I'm only a short ways away from my work, the MgRonalds down the street! Besides, you seem to need it more than I do." He said with a smile that contradicted his nature.

The woman simply looked at him for a moment, her previous expression gone.

"H-Hai, arigato." She said, her green eyes widening a bit. "_She's kinda pretty."_ Maou thought, catching himself, shaking off the thought, surprising himself.

Realizing he still had to get to work, and desperate to put an end to the awkward situation, Maou saw the crosswalk was now blinking and quickly pedaled off. "I don't even care if you throw it away!" Maou called out to the girl, as she just stared at the spot he was standing a moment ago. "It... couldn't be..." She thought to herself, as she also walked her way to work.

-_at MgRonalds_-

"Alright today is the day." Maou noted as he changed into his uniform. Today was going to have a rush hour, he could feel it. Today was the day to get this restaurant to #1 in the county. In truth, the demon king had no real passion for this. But the opportunities it offered were something he needed. If this became the #1 MgRonalds in the county, he would most likely get a raise. He would also likely be promoted to a full-time worker, with all the people that would most likely follow suit if the restaurant did well enough.

The Devil was pleased. Maybe, after this, he'd eventually become a manager of the place, and after that use his experience to rise up and get an even better job, and so on and so on until he got to a political position. Lately, he had begun to have thoughts of his own in regards to japan...

But there was no time for that now. Now, he had to work.

There was little activity the first hour or two, after all the restaurant _did_ open early and not everybody had fast food for breakfast on their minds in japan. He merely stood at the register with the same, forced smile. Every now and then, he'd notice someone staring at him out of the corner of his eye. "Chiho." Maou mused. It was quite obvious that the small junior had her eye on him. Maou didn't mind it much either way. The high schooler was a co worker and also pretty much the closest thing he had to a friend besides Ashiya.

"_Not that I need friends."_ The Devil noted, indeed, he had little need for such things, but it was always nice to know. Besides, the little girl interested him. He wondered why a normal high school girl would have feelings for him. Even if she didn't know his identity, as the Devil he had an aura that would usually only bring darker emotions out of people. Something he had to keep in check while in Japan. "_Plus not to mention that despite being a high schooler, she has a bust that rivals many of the sucubi back home_" Maou jokingly thought to himself.

Eventually, he had to shake off his thoughts as the customers started coming.

"_This is good_" Maou noted, allowing himself a small grin. There were no shortage of customers. The only problem was that almost nobody was buying their featured item, _the Black Pepper fries_ this actually troubled Maou, he thought that if he sold enough of the item, his promotion would be ensured.

"_I will NOT take any chances."_ The Devil thought, his true cruel nature revealing itself in his expression, slightly frightening Chiho. Maou noted a small group of obese men coming towards the register. This brought a cruel smile to the demon king's face. It had been a while since he used his magic of deception, and, after all, he didn't want his skills going _dull_ now did he? As the group of men approached the counter, Maou's red slitted eyes began to take on a literally devilish glow.

"May I take your orders?" The Devil asked sarcastically, knowing full well the men no longer had a choice in the matter. The men simply nodded, asking for the black pepper fries. ALL of the black pepper fries. "_This day IS going well"_ Maou thought.

"_Wait... my magic_!" Maou remembered, mentally slapping himself for such a grievous misuse of his already limited supply. When suddenly, he felt his magic return to him. "_What.." _ Maou looked over to his right to see his previous victims practically inhaling their meal. "_Gluttiny."_ Maou remembered. He would have to remember that, his current workplace was practically a nest for the sin.

After a long days of work Maou said his goodbyes to the Chiho and the rest of the staff, mounting on _Dullahan_ as he began to ride his way back to his meager apartment. Once again, he found himself at the very same corner was at this morning. Oddly enough, even the girl was still there. But for some reason, she had a far more hostile expression on her face then she had shown earlier that day.

Maou tried not to pay much attention to her, that is until she started to speak to him in a oddly familiar voice. "I went to your restaurant" she stated dully. Maou was disturbed by the familiarity in her voice, but once again shrugged it off. "You should of said something" The Devil replied, surprised at his own tone. Something about this girl left him uneasy. "I watched you all day from the bookstore across the street." Maou gave the girl a odd look. "_Is she some crazy stalker?" _He asked himself in his mind.

"I wasn't sure because of your appearance and the way you acted, but then I saw you cast a spell." The Devil formed a cruel grin. He knew who this was. "What are you doing working at MgRonalds, Dark Lord Satan!" She yelled in an aggressive tone. Maou chuckled. "Emilia..."

**Well, thats the end of chapter 2. Came out WAY longer that I expected, aswell as sooner. Idunno I suddenly just felt motivated. Either way, I'm rather proud of how this one came out. I'm considering re-writing the first chapter later on, but as always please leave reviews! And please feel free to leave a suggestion on what you think a cool way to take the story would be, thats what fanfictions are for! As always, thanks for reading!**

**-kiwi**


	3. Chapter 3: Meet n Greet

**Author's note: Here we go chapter 3, ONWARD!**

"What are you doing working at MgRonalds, Dark Lord Satan!?" Emi asked in an aggressive tone. Maou chuckled. "Emilia..."

The demon king chuckled even more as he climbed off Dullahan, only to bury his forehead into his hand as he let out a full on laugh, his red eyes glowing fiercely behind his spiky teal hair. "Ahahahaahaha. I _knew_ I recognized that voice. Weird. You hardly spoke when we fought."

"I'm not one to get chatty with demons." Emi stated cruelly. Maou managed to get a grip on himself and stopped laughing. "I'm guessing you came here to kill me." Maou said, staring his slitted red eyes into Emi's round green ones. Emi only smiled as she pulled a small knife from her pocket, readying herself into a offensive position.

Maou barely managed to contain his grin as he spotted the small knife. "And how do you intend to do it? With _that_, perhaps?" Maou said, pointing at the knife.

"Because, if I'm not mistaken..." Maou's expression suddenly turned to one of disappointment and sighed "Thats a kitchen paring knife from the 100-yen shop."

Emi's face became flustered, her offensive stance slouching as she put the knife back into her pocket. Maou's tone turned to one of contempt. "Wheres your holy sword?" Emi simply looked up at Maou with a hopeless expression. "I don't have enough celestial force, even if I did, I wouldn't be able to go home..."

"I thought as much, but still, where are your comrades?" Maou suddenly felt something shoot through his system "_Why am I feeling sorry for her...?" _ "Olba was supposed to come with me through the gate, but when I got through..." Emi sniffled as she fought back the tears. "He..."

Maou watched as the Emi's expression reduce to that of a sniveling child, abandoned by her parents. Maou suddenly frowned, his face forming an expression of pure disgust.

"Get a grip on yourself, you sniveling child." Maou's tone began to emit a darkness with each word he spoke, mimicking his true demonic voice.

Emi's head shot up, her face full of defiance. "What did you say to me, demon king?" her tone getting deeper as she once again pulled the knife from her pocket.

"I said, get a grip on yourself. You're supposed to be a hero, the symbol of humanities' bravery and character. Yet here you are, weeping in front of the Devil. You bring shame to our battle. Am I not facing the one who decimated my army? The one who rallied the human forces and killed my generals? The one who forced me to retreat, to escape to this empty, noisy world? Because if not, I'll return to Ente Isla and finish what I started." Maou's dark gaze was fixated on Emi, waiting for her reaction.

Emi's bravery kicked in as she once again formed a offensive stance. Her green eyes fixated on Maou as she defiantly prepared herself to attack. Her grip on the knife tightening as she dashed towards the disguised demon king.

Several thoughts ran though Emilia's head while she charged. who was he too question her integrity and character!? She would _not _let the Devil get away from this unscathed She quickened her pace as her thoughts became certain. She came here for one reason and one reason alone. To slay the Devil. She would give him no mercy, she had none for one such as him. She would not let him return to Ente Isla. She would protect her home.

Maou dodged the attack as he rapidly began to chuckle, proceeding into a dark laughter. A dark aura began to emit from his body.

"_**Thats it, you have appeared, my nemesis. Good. Now, come at me, attack me with all you have. Try to take that knife and stab my heart. Try and save your land and your pathetic people. Prove yourself a Hero an try to slay the Devil."**_

Maou's eyes then began to pulsate in bright red flashes. Emi could swear she saw his skin engulf in flames as the dark smoke-like aura began to envelope the laughing demon king. "_No... no thats not possible!_" Emi's eyes widened as she witnessed Maou change into a dark, terrible form, she cursed as she saw horns form from his temples, his eyes glowing brighter and brighter as he grew in stature, his body shifting and becoming more muscular while his legs began to invert, growing patches of thick grey fur along them. His nails elongating into sharp claws as his feet shifted into hooves.

"_How... how does he have his magic back!?"_ Emi's expression shifted to one of dread as she witnessed the hooved-foot step out of smoke-like aura, her eyes widening at a form she knew all too well.

Satan stopped to stare at Emi, who had long since halted her charge. "_**Why are you just standing there...?" **_Satan brow creased to a frown. "_**Damn you Emilia, You insult me... There's something wrong with the world when the Hero is less honorable than the Devil."**_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?" Emi demanded. She was in a fit of pure rage.

"_**You teased me, Emilia. My nemesis had finally re-materialized before me, and began attacking me, only to stop and stare in fear as I took off my mask." **_Emi simply stared at the demon king in question.

"_**I changed back into this form for a REASON, Emilia. Theres no honor in holding back against an enemy. Yet here you are. Hiding behind your mask. Pretending to be a weak little human holding a knife."**_ Satan began to sigh as his aura left him, his body reverting to his human form.

"If you're not going to take this fight seriously, I'm not going to bother." Maou began to mount his bike "_Come back to me when I'm facing the Hero Emilia, not the weak pretentious creature I see before me_." Maou's words echoed in Emi's thoughts as she watched the demon king pedal away.

Emi gritted her teeth as she replayed what just happened. Satan, _the devil_, just questioned her character. What made her furious was that he was right. Why didn't she go all out? Why didn't she also revert to her true form in order to face her opponent? What stopped her from doing her duty?

She was Emilia Justina... no, she was Emilia _the Hero!_ She left Ente Isla knowing full well she may never return, but took the chance in order to kill the Devil and save her people. Yet what did she do once she got there? _She cried._ She cried infront of the Devil and was lectured by her enemy for being a coward.

It was then that Emi decided she wouldn't cry anymore. Emi's right arm raised as she threw her knife, aiming for the back of Maou's head.

-Flashback-

"_**HUMANS! TODAY, I SHALL LEAVE ENTE ISLA IN YOUR HANDS." "BUT KNOW THIS, I SHALL RETURN! TO SUBJUGATE YOU, AND ALL OF ENTE ISLA!"**_

Emilia, Albertio, Emeralda, and Olba simply stood and watched as the Devil and his general escaped through the portal.

"Looks like they've escaped." Olba noted, much to the distain of the rest of the group. "Well it looks like you haven't gone _completely_ senile yet old man, yes it appears so." Albertio grunted in annoyance. "Why you.. Show some respect to your elders!" "Maybe I will when a respectable one shows up!" "Thats it, time for you to know your place, boy!"

"Bring it old man!"

Emeralda turned to Emilia as Olba and Albertio fought in the background "What shall we do, then? They've left Ente Isla, haven't we already won?" Emeralda asked, her voice monotoned as always.

Emilia took off her helmet and threw it to the floor, revealing her long silver hair. her red eyes focussing as her feet began to levitate off the ground. "No. We'll follow them. We'll kill the Devil. No matter what he has to die, if not he'll just come back and attack us again. For humanity to be safe, the demon lord's life must end." Olba, hearing this nodded as he levitated over to Emilia's side.

"You'll want help with that, I supposed?" Olba asked with a kind smile.

Emilia smiled back. "Always."

and with that, Emilia bolted to the portal, Olba following close behind. Emilia's gaze filled with determination as she saw the portal slowly begin to close"_You won't escape, Satan."_

_-back on Earth-_

Emi's rage caused her aim to falter. The knife shot right across Maou's head, slicing off some of his hair in the process.

Emi silently cursed as she prepared to sprint after the demon king, but her takeoff was cut short when she felt cold metal shackle itself around her wrists behind her.

Emi almost fell forward, catching herself as she looked over her shoulder to see a police officer cuffing her. "What's going on!?" Emi demanded, her tone getting desperate as she saw Maou ride further and further away. "You are under arrest for attempted man slaughter." The officer stated coldly. "You now have the right to remain silent. I suggest you use i-" The police officer stopped as he saw a man with spiky teal hair suddenly appear before him, red cat-like eyes glowing.

"_**Stop."**_ The officer frowned and grunted as his mind began to haze over, every inch of his being compelling him to obey. "B-But she- *grrngh* she tried to kill you!" The officer's willpower was strong, but he was losing the battle. "_**What you witnessed was a simple lover's quarrel. Forget about it and return to your post." **_Maou's eyes flashed brighter. The officer slouched as he began walking back to his post, his eyes half-closed and a small amount of drool emitting from the corner of his mouth. Satisfied, Maou turned to face a shouting Emi.

"_A LOVER'S QUARREL!?_" Emi jabbed Maou atop his head, causing him to kneel down rubbing his injured cranium.

"What was that for!?"

"WHY DID YOU TELL HIM IT WAS A LOVERS QUARREL!?" Emi's face was blushing furiously.

"WHY ARE _YOU_ TAKING IT SO SERIOUSLY, IT WAS JUST TO GET HIM OFF YOUR BACK!" Maou lifted himself off the ground as he continued rubbing his head

"Besides, any girl would be happy to be with a handsome guy like me, even if it was a lie you should be gratefu-" Maou's murmuring was interrupted as he received yet another jab from a very flustered Emi.

Emi forced herself to calm down.

"Why did you keep me from getting arrested?" Emi's tone suddenly one of all seriousness, awaiting Maou's answer.

Maou's expression following suit, his eyes glowing slightly. "Because, the fight between the Devil and the Hero wont continue behind iron bars." Maou stood up as he once again mounted Dullahan. "By the way, I didn't catch your earth name?"

"I didn't give it."

"I'm asking for it."

"I'm not giving it."

"I'm pretty sure you owe me one for saving your butt from being arrested."

"WHY YOU- You! ...Ugh. It's Emi Yusa ok!?"

Maou smiled. "Emi Yusa eh? Interesting."

Emi only looked at Maou in question as he once again began riding back to his apartment.

-The next day-

Emi's day was rather unenjoyable. After Maou left last night she did the same only to trip on her way into her apartment. After that she tried to make herself some dinner, only to burn it in the process. The next day after she woke up she tripped on her alarm clock and nearly fell down the stairs while leaving for work. Emi _hated_ stairs, but not as much as she hated what she was about to do.

Maou's day was not so great either. After returning home last night he received a 20 minute lecture from Ashiya about their lack of resources and the importance of not missing meals. After waking up with a empty stomach he toughed it out in hopes he could get a meal from work, only to find out that his work was on a shortage of patties and couldn't afford to give their employees meals for atleast a week. Luckily, he was about to get some satisfaction out of what was about to happen.

"Hello m'am, my I take your order?" Maou asked in a mocking tone, barely able to contain himself as he smiled at the person before him.

"I need to talk to you." Emi didn't like the way Maou was smiling at her, it felt insulting.

"One cheeseburger and a large fries, got it. Will there be anything else?" Maou proceeded to relay the forced order back to the kitchen as he turned back to Emi with a mischievous smile.

"Why you... just meet at the intersection once you get off break, ok!?"

"Thank you for ordering, please step to the side, your meal will be out shortly!"

Emi walked out with her food, oblivious to the grin forming across Maou's lips.

"Baka."

Emi was beginning to get annoyed. She had been waiting at that intersection for a good three hours! It was like he was _trying_ to get on her nerves...

"_probably is..."_ Emi quietly noted.

"Well, what do you want?" Emi immediatly jumped at the sound of Maou's voice. "_I didn't even hear him approach..."_

"Where did you come from!?" Emi screamed, she was not one for surprises.

"Over _there_, I think" Maou teased, mockingly pointing towards MgRonalds.

"I'll ask you again, what do you want? I'd rather avoid another lecture from Ashiya about being late."

"Who?"

"Alciel."

"Oh."

"So are you going to tell me what you want anytime soon or are you just enjoying my company?" Maou asked, slightly teasing the hero.

"Shutup!" Emi took a deep breath.

"How... how did you get your magic back...?" Emi asked, a light blush formed across her cheeks.

"Wwhhhaaat?" Maou asked, smiling.

"I asked... if you could tell me how you got your magic back..."

"Oho! so we're trading secrets now!" Maou began to smile. "But first you have to tell me a secret." Maou's smile only grew wider.

"F-fine... *sigh* what is it you want to know?

"What color are your panties?"

"WHAT!?"

"You heard me. What color are they?"

"I'm not telling you that!" Emi screamed, blushing furiously.

"Then I'm not telling you how I got my magic back." Maou only continued to smile."

There was a long period of silence as Emi stared down looking at her feet, waiting for the blushing to end. Maou only sighed as he began to mount Dullahan.

"...G-Green."

Maou smiled. "What was that?"

"My underwear... is g-green..." Maou, noticing how red Emi's face was becoming, decided to further torture the poor human.

"Oh I'm sorry, I asked what color your PANTIES were."

Emi only looked up at Maou as he saw her on the verge of exploding with embarrassment.

"Say it."

"M-my p-panties... are g-green..." Emi almost fainted.

Maou smile grew even wider **(Authors note: bet you're wondering how wide this dude's smile can get aren't ya!?) **

"Alright, deals a deal." Maou's face immediately lost it's smile.

"You see, these humans are weak-willed." Emi stared at Maou in confusion.

Maou continued. "They carelessly give in to their basic desires without a thought. All of humanities deadly sins... they're all here, sloth, gluttiny, greed, lust.. it's... delicious." Maou's eyes flashed a bright red.

"Anyways why do you ask? I very much doubt you'll be able to nourish your power off of the sins of humanity, if thats why you're asking."

"Ofcourse not!" "I wouldn't do that even if I could!" Emi yelled defiantly. Maou sighed.

"Do you want my help?" Maou asked, a contradictory hint of kindness in his tone.

"W-what?" Emi simply looked at Maou, her eyes wide.

"I asked if you want my help in recovering your magic."

"I-I...don't need your help." Emi said, her expression betraying her words.

"Look, its obvious that you do. You want to kill me, you want to go home. As do I, I too want to once again face you on equal terms. In a way both of us would be getting what we want. it would be a win win situation." "_That is until one of us kills the other.._." Maou and Emi noted in unison.

"Emilia. I will not fight you on this. Like it or not, we _will_ face each other once more." Maou spoke with a tone that sounded as if it was coming from a dark pit.

"I will face my nemesis again. I am Satan. The Devil. I will crush, stab, claw and shred. I will reap and destroy without a moments hesitation. You are Emilia, the Hero. You are meant to stop me from doing those things. We were born to face each other Emilia." "But our battle must commence on equal grounds, and right now it appears that will only happen with my help." Maou looked directly into Emi's eyes as he spoke.

"Now, I'll ask you again. Do you want my help to bring you back to who you truly are?"

"Yes." Emilia stood there, baffled at the situation. She never thought the Devil would be so honorable...

Maou smiled. "Come closer."

"What?" Emilia asked, confused.

"I need to touch you." Maou stated bluntly.

"WHAT!?"

"Not like that, you perv. Get your mind out of the gutter. I can't very well help you get your magic back if I don't know what you _are."_

"What do you mean?"

"Look, its clear your not a human, not an ordinary one at least. No mere human should be able to summon a holy sword, Heaven's ego is too big to allow such a thing. To find out what you are, my magic must come into physical contact with your body.

Emi pondered at this for a moment until she reached her decision. "F-fine just... just get it over with!" Emi yelled, highly embarrassed.

Maou calmly proceeded to walk over to Emi, placing his hand over her left cheek.

Emi once again began to blush furiously.

Maou's hand began to emit a soft purple glow, slowly changing into a warm yellowish-green.

Maou smiled. "I'd expect nothing less from my nemesis..."

"W-What is it?"

"You're a Nephilim."

**Well, thats the end of chapter three, I know I left out some stuff but please keep in mind this is only going to stay about 50% true to the anime, think of this like the first half of episode 2, while the second half will take place in chapter 4. This chapter took a bit longer than usual, so I hope you liked it! As always please leave reviews! **

**-kiwi**


	4. Chapter 4: Pain of the past

**Author's Note: SSSOOOOO sorry for how long this one took. I've had very little free time, and with it being summer and all I'm trying to enjoy it while I can.**

**That plus short term writers block doesn't help but... ya. Anyways we're getting closer and closer to the big fight scene... hehehehe, gonna be fun writing that.**

**Anyways, here's chapter 4. Enough notes, HAVE AT YOU!**

Emi stared at Maou in confusion. "_A Nephilim...?"_ The word repeated itself in her thoughts, in an incantation-like manor.

"A Nephilim...? What are you getting at, Satan!?"

"Baka, call me Maou."

"Just answer me!" Emi demanded, tired of waiting for her answer.

Maou sighed. "The Nephilim..." Once again the pronunciation the word seemed to ring with a power within Emi's mind.

"They were, at one time, considered the ultimate link between humanity and those beyond... or below..."

An image suddenly burned itself into Emi's mind, of silhouetted men and women who's only definitive features were piercing red and blue eyes. Their image felt... cosmic, beyond that of comprehension.

"I will try to put this in terms you can comprehend. Nephilim, by all rights, should not exist. They are children who deny the laws of reality."

Emi still did not understand. Maou saw this, and continued.

"To put it simply, they are the bastard children of realms coming together. They are the product of immortals becoming one with humanity."

Emi's eyes widened as a memory pushed it's way to her vision.

~_Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

"Papa! Paaapppaaa!" Little Emilia called out as she ran about the wheat field, stumbling every few steps as she gleefully searched for her father.

Stopping by a tree to catch her breath, she was caught off guard as the sudden appearance of two hands at her waist lifted her high, Emilia giggled as her father spun her around in the air.

"Now, what is my cute little girl running around yelling my name for?" Nord smiled as he began tickling his daughter, her laughter just making his smile all the warmer.

"Stop it papa I- hehehehehehe" Emilia was desperately trying to finish her sentence. Eventually her father eventually relented as Emilia got up, dusting off her dress.

"So what is it, sweetie?

Emilia relinquished the broadest of smiles as she pulled out the basket, filled to the brim with all manors of food..

"I made it all by myself!" Nord smiled, clearly hearing the pride in his daughter's voice.

"Wow! All by yourself, huh? Well it sure smells good..." A large growl emitted from the father's belly.

"...And it seems my stomach doesn't have any complaints either, let's dig in!"

While they finished their lunches, Nord and Emilia had begunn to hear the sound of clopping hooves and rolling wheels emitting along the road they sat beside.

Nord smiled, recognizing his friend.

"Hey there Yuvic!"

"Oh, hey there Nord.."

"Is there something wrong?" Nord suddenly felt worried. His friend's tone seemed very glum, and depressed.

"Oh... I guess you haven't heard... the Northern and Eastern lands just fell to the Devil's army."

Nord was shocked, he thought for sure that the islands could hold their own. His expression was near hopeless, though he tried to hied it once he saw Emilia staring at him.

"Well, I'm sure the holy father's prayers will protect us." Nord said with a fake smile, desperately trying to hide the despair in his tone.

Fortunately, the young girl was still too young to recognize it. But she was still old enough to recognize fear.

"Demon's aren't going to come here, are they Papa...?" Emilia asked, tears of fright beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

"No, don't worry your precious little head about it." Nord offered a king smiled as he wiped away the tears with his thumb. "The church will always protect us"

Emilia accepted the answer and went back to smiling. "_Papa's so brave_" She happily thought to herself.

"Well, at this point all we can do is hope you're right..." Yuvic sighed as he continued walking past.

Unlike Yuvic, little Emilia was very hopeful. Once again dusting off her dress, she got up and ran right in front of the disheartened merchant, blocking his way.

"Papa's right, you know."

Emilia simply stared at the man with her big, green eyes. without a word, the little girl relinquished a broad smile, placing her hand firmly on her other arm.

"No demon would dare set foot here..." The girl's hand formed a fist. "And even if they do, I'll just beat 'em all up!"

Yuvic couldn't help but smile. For whatever reason, this little girl had made him feel hope once again.

"_As long as there are kids like her in this world, we don't need to worry about a thing."_

"Well then... For their sakes they better not get too close!" Offering a thumbs up, the merchant, his faith restored, continued walking, this time with much more confidence in his step.

As the two waved Yuvic goodbye, the road once again began to emit sounds of horses and wheels. Thinking it was another one of her father's friends, Emilia turned to face her papa.

This time, Nord's expression was not so happy.

Emi shook her head as the memory left her vision.

"Are you done?" Maou asked in an annoyed tone. He did not appreciate Emi staring into space while he was trying to tell her her something important.

"W-What?" Emi replied, still clearly reconnecting to reality.

"If the explanation of _what you are _bores you, please let me know." Maou stated in an annoyed tone.

"S-Sorry I just sorta spaced out for a seco-" Emi was interrupted when Maou's arm suddenly shot out infront of her, his palm deflecting a surging purple bolt of energy.

"What was that!?" Emi demanded, reverting to a battle hardened tone.

"No time." Within an instant, Maou grabbed the confused Emi's hand and disappeared.

~_**Sasazuka** **Station **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

A burst of purple light exploded behind a nearby pillar within the currently abandoned train station. Emi stumbled as she gained her bearings, realizing that she and Maou had just teleported.

Maou merely stood with a frown creasing along his brow.

"_That magic. Felt so... familiar..."_ A cruel grin found it's way forming across the demon king's lips.

"_This is starting to get VERY interesting..." _ Maou allowed himself a small chuckle.

Once his chuckling had subsided, Maou turned to face a very angry and confused Emilia.

"What was _that?" _Emi repeated in a tone that sounded quite annoyed.

"Oh, I dunno." Maou teased, continuing his somewhat insulting grin.

"Cut the crap, Satan. If that was magic, we're in serious trouble."

"**Don't dare underestimate me, Hero." **Maou enjoyed the look she gave him after hearing him talk in his true voice.

Emi decided to remain quiet until the demon king gave in.

A few moments of silence later...

The Hero's plan was a success. "Ugh... fine. We'll do this your way." The demon king was starting to get annoyed with the Nephilim. He was never allowed any fun when she was around, excluding his occasional teasing.

Emi was satisfied. "Good. Now, first things first we need to find somewhere safe to plan."

"Easy, we can use the Devil's castle." Maou offered proudly.

"The Devil's castle, eh?" the Hero did not believe for one second that the man before her still possessed such a thing.

"Are you so sure it's not just a tiny apartment?"

"...Shutup." Maou did not like it when he was the one being teased.

"Either way, your _apartment_ is not good enough."

Maou did not like the way she emphasized '_apartment'._

"Well then, ms. know-it-all, where _is_ good enough?"

"Somewhere safe, but public. I doubt whoever's attacking us will do so when we're surrounded by other people."

"We're not using MgRonalds, if that's what your implying, Emi."

"Don't worry, I already have a place in mind."

"Okay then, where is it?"

Instead of answering, Emi simply stared at Maou with a blank expression.

"W-What is it?" Maou asked in a confused tone, looking around to see if there was anything behind him.

Turning back, Maou reciprocated Emi's stare with one of his own.

Emi turned away and crossed her arms. "It's a b-bookstore." she stated matter-of-factly.

"Go on..." the demon king was starting to get annoyed.

Emi wasn't budging. "I-It's a bookstore and thats all you need to know."

"Ok... but where is i-"

Maou's eyes widened as his smile re-emerged.

Emi saw this, and her eyes responded by shooting downward, glaring at her feet.

"This bookstore... wouldn't happen to be directly across the street from my work, now would it?" It looked as if the demon king would have some fun after all.

He would enjoy every second of the torture he was about to inflict.

Emi didn't respond, instead continuing to glare down at her feet, not wanting to give the demon king the satisfaction of seeing her lobster-red face.

Unfortunately, Maou noticed.

"You know, it's rude to _spy_ on people, Emilia... or maybe you do? Oh you naughty girl."

Emi shot a glance at Maou, the demon king swore her face had becoming embarrassment and anger incarnate.

This just made the demon king's smile all the wider.

"I-Im the Hero! I have to make sure you're not up to anything!" Emi knew this excuse would not suffice, but she was desperate. "_Just loves to put into corners, doesn't he?" _Emi asked herself, incorrectly assuming her thoughts were private. "_**Well I AM the Devil..."**_ Emi jumped.

"_GET OUT OF MY HEAD."_

"_**But why? It's so interesting in here! Besides, this way it's easier for us to come up with a plan! Ooh, whats that over there?"**_

"_GET OUT NOW! O-OR I'LL START THINKING OF SOMETHING NASTY."_

"_**Ooh, you ARE a naughty girl!"**_

Emi, on the brink of popping a blood vessel, proceeded to kick Maou's inner thigh, barely missing the demonic jewels.

Maou responded by dropping to his knees, wincing in pain.

"JUST MEET ME AT THE BOOKSTORE TOMORROW!"

"G-Got it..." Maou continued to wince.

Emi merely replied with a quick "Hmph" as she proceeded to walk towards one of the trains, rummaging through her pockets, only to stop, shoot a quick look around, and smack herself on the forehead.

Maou saw this as he recovered from his nearly-neutered state and shot a confused look at Emi, who then proceeded to blush, smack herself again, then blush even harder.

There was a good minute of silence before one of them spoke.

"Um... what's wro-"

"I FORGOT MY WALLET ALRIGHT!?"

"..."

"You forgot your..."

"..."

Maou sighed.

"Alright then, grab my hand."

"What!?" Emi screamed, she was getting rather tired of the Devil's teasing.

"I said grab my hand. Look, enemies or not, it's dangerous for a girl to be alone at night. I won't have my nemesis kidnapped to have who knows what done to her"

**(Author's Note: Wanted to say "God knows what" But... yeah you get the Idea.)**

Emi was shocked, to say the least. The _Devil_, the demon lord who had killed her people and nearly conquered her homeland was concerned about a girl's safety? Not only that, but he was concerned for _her_ safety? It was almost infuriating, If he could by so nice...

The worst part was, she was actually _considering_ his offer.

Maou noticed the expression on her face. Inside, he wanted to tell her the truth, that... that perhaps he wasn't all evil. But he knew she would not accept it. He had long since learned humans would not accept someone so long as they were a demon.

He had long since learned his hatred for the species.

Maou cringed as he repressed the memories of that lesson. Even for him... they were all too painful.

Though the demon king was not the only one reliving painful memories.

"Damn you... why?"

Maou looked up at the girl before him. There were small tears streaking down her face.

"What?"

"If you could be... damn you..."

Maou felt puzzled. What was she trying to say...?

Maou's attention was suddenly stolen from Emi when his head shot to the side, his cat-like eyes focussing on an obscurity in the silhouette of the building behind them. His eyes slightly focussed, and in a flash Maou turned to Emi and grabbed her hand.

"We have to go. _Now_."

In a explosion of purple light, they vanished. The silhouetted figure in the distance only smiled as he unleashed his wings.

"The hunt is on, Satan."

~"_**The Devil's Castle" **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Ashiya was becoming very, very angry. He stood in the tiny room, the floors creaking and squeaking as he began to pace back in forth. The sound of bubbling konjac filled the room, a light steam being blown out the barred window. The blonde demon was getting rather tired of his lord's lateness. He would follow the king to Heaven and back, but he would also appreciate his majesty being on time for dinner.

"_Listen to me..."_ Ashiya thought to himself. "_I sound like a housewife..."_

The sudden appearance of a black smoke in the center of the room halted the supposed housewife's thoughts.

Ashiya took a step forward, only to be blasted back into the thin wall as his lord and a red-headed human girl appeared before him.

"S-Sire... DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!?" Ashiya found himself staring at the human girl. Something about her left him uneasy.

Maou replied to Ashiya's nagging with a very serious stare.

"_**Silence, Alciel."**_

Ashiya couldn't help but obey. Hearing his lord refer to him by his true name, and in his true voice... the situation must be very serious. But, that girl... who _was_ she? Why did she appear with his lord? Why wasn't he hiding their nature from her? Why did her presence feel so... _familiar_?

The girl caught his staring, and didn't like it.

"What are _you_ staring at, demon general Alciel?"

The blonde demon got his answer. "E-Emilia the Hero!?"

Emilia released a cocky smile. "Your looking well, ."

"**Stop it you two."** Maou's voice was resembling it's true form more and more as he spoke, something was obviously leaving the demon king uneasy.

"Don't think yourself able to command _me_, Satan." Emilia stated defiantly.

"**Drop it, Emilia. Our situation just got alot more serious."** Satan was barely restricting himself, even his shadow was beginning to shift to that of his true, terrible form.

Emilia, though against it, complied. She did not like this one bit, but the demon king was speaking in a tone that told her he was telling the truth.

Alciel found himself in ecstasy. His lord was finally acting like himself again. Not only that, but Emila, the _Hero_ Emila was following his majesty's orders. Alciel desperately wanted to revert into his true form aswell, unfortunately being inside most of the time kept him from absorbing sufficient magic to perform such a task.

Despite the situation, inside Satan couldn't help but feel thrilled. He could barely hold back his true form at the thought of battle. Whoever their attacker was, they were powerful. Someone who might last more than a minute on the battlefield.

Satan's will crashed as he allowed himself to revert.

Emilia watched in disgust as Satan's expression of seriousness turned to one that of playful joy, her brow creasing as he crouched in an animal-like manor. She could swear she saw his shadow sprout a forked tail that swayed back and fourth like an excited puppy.

"If the situation is so _serious_, then why do you look so excited Satan?"

A deep, dark laugher filled the room. It's tone seeming to echo from the deepest of pits.

"**Ok, I'll admit it... I'm incredibly excited Emilia... I'm itching to kill someone...I'm ready... I'M BLOODY READY."**

Emi stared in shock as a black smoke began to surround the frail form before her, steam emitting from the ground around his feet as the smoke-like aura enveloped his being. "**I'M READY TO STRETCH MY WINGS." **A literal pair of large bat-like wings sprouted from the smoke, slowly folding their way back in. "**It's been too long since I've had battle. I need this Emilia, I swear if I don't fight something soon..." **

The black aura had left, and in it's place standing at around 8 feet tall was the Devil, a cruel grin spread about his lips.

"**I'll tear this city and it's people to shreds."**

_**~Sasaki Household **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Chiho's face was beat-red. She wasn't doing anything _wrong_, mind you, nor was she viewing anything *ahem* _indecent..._ No, she was simply casually lying atop her neatly made bed, staring endlessly at the name of a certain contact on her phone: _Sadao Maou. That_ name, that name was the source of her reddened disposition. She had been staring at that name for a good 5 minutes, unable to do anything but blush more and more, constantly wondering if she could muster the courage to do what had been lingering on her mind.

It didn't help that, each and every time she thought of the man, (Which was quite often) she could swear she heard strange voices, speaking an even stranger language. She merely ignored it, it was most likely her mother watching more foreign movies in the other room. At least, thats what she kept telling herself.

She ignored it, and went back to staring at the name, for another 5 minutes, before she eventually began to type.

Finally, after collecting all her courage, she pressed send. She then collapsed, a small trickle of blood leaving her left nostril.

_**~"The Devil's Castle"**_

Emilia's expression was that of disgust, Alciel's one of pure ecstasy upon seeing his lord's true self emerge.

Satan stood chuckling in the middle of the room, his eyes pulsating in bright red flashes, his clawed hand covering his face as he began laughing uncontrollably, barely making an attempt to gain a grip on himself.

After a few moments, Satan's chuckling subsided and his evil grin left him as he slowly sighed and began to shrink, his muscles depleting and his horns pulling back into his temples while his legs went from their goat like nature to that of a human's.

"Guess I can't get too reckless just yet. I'll need to save some magic for the actual battle. The sins of weak willed humans can only get you so far."

Emi let out an inward sigh of relief, it was good to know the demon king wasn't yet at his full power.

Her eyebrow also arched at the sound that was best described as a whimper. She didn't need to look to know who that was.

Maou frowned as he crossed his arms. "Emilia... for now I guess it's best to go with your idea."

"Oh, so you actually want to form a plan? You sure seemed contempt with tearing away their flesh a few moments ago..."

Maou chuckled a little. "Yea, I'd like that. But in all seriousness I guess yours is a better way to go about this.

"Oh, so the Devil is going to listen to the Hero? How _far_ you've fallen, Satan.".

"Why you... SHOW SOME RESPECT FOR THE MASTER OF THIS HOUSE." Ashiya did _not_ take kindly to his lord being insulted right infront of him, in his own home by a _human_ no less."

Maou turned to Emi, a very stern expression that was quickly reciprocated.

"You know why. Always know your enemy. I was reminded that after you decimated my army."

Emi smiled proudly. "Was that a compliment, demon king?"

Maou retained his stern expression. "Take it as you will. The bottom line is we need to figure out who's attacking us, and why they have enough magic to do so."

Emi lost her smile and nodded in agreement.

"Well, they must have high magic reserves, I don't imagine the gate is something just _anybody_ can open."

Maou nodded, remembering how weak the use of the gate had left him when he first arrived on earth.

He was about to add something, when he felt a sudden vibration emerge from his right pocket.

Sighing, the demon reached his hand into his pocket and flipped his cellphone open.

Emi scoffed as she saw how old it was.

Maou saw this and replied only by gazing into the Hero's eyes.

"**You're still making payments to keep your fancy touchscreen.**"

"DAMNIT SATAN STAY OUT OF MY HEAD." Maou's counter was proving quite effective.

This time Maou scoffed. "Whatever. Now... Chi-chan huh? Let's see then..." the demon king continued to mumble to himself for a few moments, eventually, he was brought to a pause as a smile emerged across his lips, followed by a plan in his mind.

Emi didn't like that smile, it felt all too devious.

"What are you smiling about?" The nephilim asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I've been asked out on a date.."

_**~Elsewhere… **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Chiho stood nervously on the street corner, trying to ignore the stares she was receiving as she tried to avoid looking awkward while she waited.

It was a busy time of day, darkness was approaching and most people were rushing home from work. Chiho had to constantly maneuver herself to avoid the people walking, running, and biking past her.

This left the teen stressed, but the knowledge of her situation, the fact that she was actually going on a date with _him_... it made it all worth while. All the time she had spent just thinking of the man, and now...

Chiho could barely contain herself. Her face once again began to redden uncontrollably.

"Chi-chan?"

Chiho jumped. That voice...

"MAOU-SAN!" Chiho almost tackled the surprised boy as she leaped into hugging him.

Maou let out an awkward smile as he patted her on the back.

"So, um..."

"Let's go!"

"H-Hai..."

As the two walked away, a crudely hidden Ashiya an Emi looked to see if anybody had followed them. Unfortunately, nobody had.

Emi sighed. "_How do I get myself into these situations...?"_

_~Earlier ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

"What do you mean you've been asked out?" Emi asked in an annoyed tone. She didn't understand why anybody would want to go on a date with the man she saw before her.

"I mean what I said. A coworker of mine just asked me out to a date." Maou's tone suggested he didn't it all too seriously.

"WHAT!?" Ashiya stood fuming, his face red with anger.

"_What HUMAN thinks herself worthy enough to go on a date with the king of demons_!?"

Emi ignored the frenzied general as she walked up to the demon king.

"Your not going to go are you?" The Hero asked, slightly caught off guard as the Devil replied with a cruel smile.

"Of course I am. It's the perfect way to lure out our attacker."

Emi got angry.

"The girl could die. Whoever is attacking us is powerful. If they see you alone with a human girl, they won't hold back."

The Devil's smile became colder.

"All the more reason to go."

_**~Cafe** **De'toure** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

The cafe was very serene.

Even though it was a weekend, the underground mall was surprisingly empty, it was quiet too, the only noise coming from the cars roaming above. The two sat in a small booth next to the shop's main window, as to Maou's request. Chiho didn't care. She was too mesmerized at who she was on a date with.

In her eyes, it was the perfect date. Maou had arrived wearing a black blazer that to anybody else was just tacky. But for Chiho, it left her mouth melting. The Cafe was nice and quiet, there was barely any people, and the ones who were there were minding their own business slowly sipping tea.

Maou however, was drinking the tea as if it was in a shot glass. Chiho slowly blowed across the top of her cup, wondering how her date could drink tea so hot. "_Maou-san is amazing.."_ the teen murmured to herself under her breath.

"What was that, Chi-chan?" Maou asked with a smile. He knew what she said, but she didn't need to know that.

"N-Nothing!" Chiho mentally slapped herself for thinking out loud, oblivious to the fact that it wouldn't of made a difference.

"Ok... so anything you want to talk about? You always seem to be avoiding me at work..."

In truth, she was spying.

"I'm sorry!" Chiho was mortified that he thought such a thing.

_**Not too far away… **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Ashiya and Emi watched the two from behind a nearby pillar in a stalker-like fashion.

Both found themselves disgusted at what they saw.

Emi was disgusted that the demon king had lured in such an innocent... curvaceous... girl... Emi suddenly found herself jealous as she stared down at her own chest.

Ashiya was disgusted that a mere human had dared to fall for his lord. But he too found himself curious about her figure. "_Is she a succubus...?"_

Emi pulled her attention away from her chest and over to the demon beside her.

"Focus, pervert!" Emi brought back Ashiya's attention with a very hard slap.

"Who do you think you're striking!?"

"The perverted demon general oogling over a teenage girl!"

"What could I possibly find arousing about that _human!? _I'm just making sure she doesn't try anything with milord."

"Uh-huh."

"I saw _you _looking too."

"...Shutup."

_**~Cafe **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Maou found his eyes wandering about the pillar, wondering what all the commotion between the two was about. It was actually starting to annoy the demon king, there was a powerful creature among them somewhere, and all they could do was bicker among themselves.

Then again, he was the one on a date with a teenage girl.

"Maou-san?"

"Hai?"

"What are you staring at?" Chiho was more than a little disappointed. The dress she was wearing was _not_ cheap, and Maou was paying her no attention.

"N-Nothing, sorry... so back to what I asked earlier, has anything interesting happening with you lately?" Maou asked, desperate to ease the tension.

Chiho was glad he did. "Not particularly. My mom's been keeping me in lately. With what's been happening on the news an all."

Maou only stared at the teen with a questioning look, causing her to blush slightly.

"Y-You don't know?"

Maou shook his head. "Don't have a TV."

"Oh, well... um, apparently theres been a lot of muggings and robberies in the area."

Maou's widened. He stood up stood up slightly as he demanded more information.

"When did this start? How long has this been happening?"

Chiho jumped at the sudden rush of questions that were being delivered to her. Trying her best, she began answering.

_**~ Pillar **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

"That's it. I'm heading inside."

"What!?"

"I _said_ I'm heading inside."

"But you can't! Sire ordered us to keep watch!"

"Unlike _you_ Alciel, I don't take orders from the demon king."

"Such insolence... from a mere _human_..."

"I'm not human."

Ashiya's brow arched as Emi walked towards the Cafe .

"I'm nephilim."

As the supposed nephilim walked away, Ashiya found himself grabbing at his chest, sweating as he replayed what the Hero had just said.

"A nephilim?... Sire..." Alciel felt himself pity his lord.

_**~Cafe **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

After the teen had finished her answering, she found herself blushing furiously as the man sitting across from her simply stared at her with a mischievous grin spread across his face.

Maou's grin slowly subsided at the sight of a red haired girl entering the Cafe, and completely disappearing as she sat down at the table across from him.

Chiho also found herself in displeasure as she looked at the woman sitting across from them. She was rather pretty, she had big, green eyes that for some reason made the teen feel at peace.

What didn't make her feel at peace was the way she was staring at her date.

Maou sighed as he turned back to Chiho, who did the same and once again found herself blushing.

"Well, sorry to hear that. But I doubt your mother will have to worry for much longer. I have a feeling those muggings will be ending soon..."

Chiho smiled, for whatever reason, she believed him, but at the same time, instead of feeling relieved... she just felt more frightened. It was something about the way he spoke... she loved his voice but, it sometimes felt so... dark, unsettling... she knew this feeling well, she would sometimes experience it when spying on her co worker.

But each and every time she felt it, she just found herself even more interested in the man. He was so _mysterious_...

So was the woman sitting across from them. Chiho was indeed _very_ interested when the woman stood up and walked over to their table.

"That's enough Sata- *ahem* Maou. We should go."

Maou sighed as he began to stand up, only to shoot back down to his seat as he saw Chiho shoot a look that frightened even _him._

"Who are _you_!? What are you doing with Maou-san!?"

"T-Thats none of your concern. Besides, you should consider yourself lucky I'm taking him away. Loving him will only leave you hurt."

"Who are you to say such a thing!?" Chiho let out a small gasp. "ARE YOU HIS EX!?"

Maou clapped his hand over his mouth, barely able to muffle his laughter.

"W-WHAT!?"

Maou kicked his feet in the air as the Hero and his general shouted in unison, both trying to explain to the frenzied teen just how wrong she was.

"M-ME!? IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH H-HIM!?"

"WELL ARE YOU!?"

"Miss Sasaki, you have nothing to fear. Maou-sama is far above this woman."

"WHAT WAS THAT!?"

The demon king was now laughing uncontrollably, the other customers glaring awkwardly at the commotion.

The sudden quake about the room brought an end to their staring.

At first, their reactions were minimal. Living in Japan, they were quite used to earthquakes, and merely held onto their booths as they waited for the quake to pass. But the quake did not pass, and instead grew more violent. As the pillars began to buckle and collapse, their reactions had shifted from ones of indifference to pure fear.

Maou had stopped laughing. Ashiya had stopped arguing.

Alciel began to change.

Satan had already begun.

As the last pillar collapsed, the cafe exploded in a blast of black smoke.

_**~A few minutes later **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

The small casm echoed as a thick sheet of concrete blasted out of the rubble.

Emi grunted from the effort as she pulled herself from what was nearly her tomb.

As she pulled the last of her leg from the rubble, the Hero collapsed, trying desperately

to catch her breath.

Emi desperately wanted to close her eyes, and she would have, had she not been interrupted by a sudden questioning voice

"Are you okay?"

Emi looked up to see the girl from earlier hovering over her face.

"Yeah... I guess."

Emi was actually quite stunned. The teen before her was almost completely unscathed, save for a few small cuts and bruises.

"Thought so. It's weird, nobody seems to have gotten hurt." Emi looked around. What the teen said was true, everybody who had been caught underground during the collapse seemed to be nearly completely unharmed. Emi was relieved, but also quite curious. There was no way those people had survived by luck...

Emi's thoughts were interrupted at the sound of Chiho coughing and wincing in pain. The teen slowly leaned back as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Emi ran to her, catching the girl as she collapsed. Laying her down gingerly onto the concrete floor.

"_What the hell..."_

Emi's eyes widened as she heard a strange streaming sound emit from behind her.

Slowly turning around, the Hero began to cough up blood.

Streams of red mist began to emit from the bodies of the men women and children that had been caught in the collapse, their unconscious forms still finding a way to emit expressions of terror.

Their expressions only seemed to feed the mist.

It was creeping, slowly but gaining in speed and size as it flowed towards it's destination: a nearby pile of rubble.

Slowly limping over to the rubble to investigate, Emi fell on her hands and knees as she coughed up more blood.

Before her the red mist was gathering, filtering into the cracks amongst the pile of concrete. As the last of the mist disappeared into the rubble, a dark presence filled the room. It felt... wrong. Terrible. _Unholy._

Emi could no longer breath. As her vision began to fade, she noticed a pair of brightly glowing red cat-like eyes glare down at her, a clawed hand slowly reaching out to her as she slipped into unconsciousness.

**Welp, that's the end of chapter 4. Sorry again for how long this took. I may or may not leave a little gift with chapter 5 to make up for it...**


	5. Chapter 5: Dreams of dark times

**(A/N) OH. MAH. GAWD. I'm ssoooooo sorry for how long it took me to update, I had to rewrite this a few times and school started a few weeks ago, which, I might add, is giving me far less free time than last year. (Homework over break, _really_ Ms. Robey?) Anyways I won't take up any more time, Chapter 5! Awwwaaayyy!**

"_In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself within a dark woods where the straight way was lost." _

―Dante Alighieri, Inferno.

The dream was no stranger to Emilia.

She had experienced it several times before, though the pain it caused never dulled.

In the dream, she was still a little girl, small and frail. Her face was dirty, having not bathed in several days. Her limbs were thin and weak, as she had refused to eat for quite some time.

She felt imprisoned in her surroundings, she had been taken from her home with little reason or explanation, not even from her father.

He could only choke back the tears as his daughter was taken away from him.

"_Papa.. papa what's going on? I'm scared..."_

"_Emilia... Emilia it's going to be ok. Just... just do what they ask alright?"_

"_Papa who are they? Why are they looking at me like that...?"_

"_They're... they're the church, pumpkin. They're here to...to take you away..."_

"_Why?"_

"_..."_

"_Papa?"_

Emilia struggled as the men grabbed at her arms, desperately fighting to stay with her father.

But this only caused their grips to tighten.

As the men dragged her off to the carriage, Emilia got one last glimpse of her father, now on his knees, his face hanging low as tears burned down his cheeks.

That was 3 weeks ago.

Three weeks since she had last seen her father, since she became the "Guest" of this stone prison. She hadn't said a word since. She rarely ate, only allowing herself the occasional loaf of bread when the hunger pains got the best of her.

The monks had long since given up communicating with the girl, their attempts at politeness were wasted as it only earned them more silence.

There was only one man who she took any notice to, a high priest known as Olba.

He was a kind man in his late 50's, his hair grey and receding. His face constantly displaying a smile that resembled that of her father's.

It was because of that resemblance that the girl trusted the priest. He was the only one she would accept food from, the only one who she would pay any notice to when passed by.

He was the closest thing she had to a friend in this prison.

Though this was never the part of the dream that caused her pain. No, what really caused her the emotional agony was what always came next.

That night there was a large rainfall, the priests had allowed her the freedom of the outdoors, if only for the duration of the storm. She sat in the courtyard at the stump of a large tree, it's leaves barely managing to keep the girl dry.

Olba snuck his way out from the church's large doors, silently closing the gates as he made his way to approach the girl.

"Emilia."

"..."

"Emilia you should come inside, you'll catch a cold."

"..."

"Emilia?"

Still no reply.

Olba sighed as he took a step closer, sitting next to the silent girl, head head hung low hugging her knees.

"What is it that's troubling you little one?"

Without lifting her head, she slowly raised her hand, silently pointed ahead.

What Olba saw shocked him.

It was fire.

A large plume of black smoke had risen above the trees, the sounds of screams and clashing steel echoing in the distance.

"That was my village."

Olba turned to face the girl, but her eyes were focused only on the fire.

"Child I-"

"He's dead, isn't he? My father, that is."

Olba gaze fell to the ground.

"Thats what you came out here to tell me, isn't it? That my father died."

"I... Yes."

Without a word, Emilia stood up, silently wiping away her tears with her forearm.

The rain began to pour harder.

Olba, still sitting, raised his gaze to her.

Her jaw was clenched, gritting her teeth as she desperately fought to keep the tears at bay.

"It's alright to cry, Emilia..."

Emilia's gaze shot towards the priest.

"Crying won't bring my father back!"

"No, I suppose it wont... but still, you should-"

"That evil demon king took him away from me forever! I've lost everything to that damned Devil!"

Olba fell silent.

Emilia began to tremble. Something began to boil in her core, beginning feel as if all of her grief was taking shape, expanding, materializing into a physical form.

All she could think of was her father, his warm smile, his always friendly disposition... Then her thoughts drifted to the demon king, who had now taken that away from her, her mind raced. Now she wanted nothing more than to take action, to take vengeance on the man who took her father away from her.

Suddenly, something within her snapped.

A deep pain began to form from her back.

At first it was minimal, as if she pulled a muscle, but with each passing second it grew, and didn't stop. It just kept growing, and growing. It felt as if the skin on her back was tearing apart, spreading, as if allowing something through.

Emilia began to scream.

Olba quietly watched with guilty interest, while at the same time harboring a deep fear. He had heard a few of the other elders speak of this, but never thought he would see if for himself.

"_A Nephilim." _He quietly noted.

As the screams grew louder, Olba quietly backed away, leaving the poor girl to her fate.

Emilia's mind was at a haze, the pain was beyond description. The only thing keeping her sane was the thought of vengeance. Vengeance against the man that took away everything she loved, vengeance against the man that had now killed her father, _vengeance against the Devil._

Emilia punched the tree in anger, sending it shooting through the forrest. She stared at her still extended fist in wonder, before another jolt of pain shot through her back.

The agony by now had her writhing about like a snake that was desperate to shed it's skin.

Emilia could feel herself getting lighter, lighter, completely oblivious to the fact that she was now levitating off the ground, her bare toes brushing against wet grass.

Her hair caught in the howling wind, floating weightlessly as a pale white slowly crept from it's roots. She felt her eyes burn, their once green color now being filled with a deep red hue.

The pain grew unbearable.

With one final scream, a large pair of white wings burst from her back.

* * *

"_AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"_

Emi awoke with a scream, panting heavily as her eyes darted about the place, checking her surroundings.

She was in her room.

Emi sighed in relief.

"**Rough night?"**

Emi's gaze shot towards the direction of the all too familiar voice.

"What in God's name are you doing in my room _Satan_!?"

Satan's eyes narrowed at the name. "**Cute choice of words. And If I were you I'd be thanking me right now."**

"Like I'd ever thank you! I'm a-"

"_**A Hero**_** I know, really that's starting to get on my nerves. Well, more so than usual."**

"Just answer my question, damn you! What are you doing in my room!?"

"**Oh right, about that. I kinda saved your life."**

"How did I get here and what are you doing here!? ANSWER. NOW."

Satan scowled.

"**You may be the Hero but remember who you speak to, girl. I am the Devil, I take no orders from you."**

Emilia fell silent.

"**Now then, as I was saying I saved your life, quite a number of human's as well, believe it or not."**

"You? Save humans? Lies!"

"**Ya know, the whole 'Prince of Lies' thing is one of the few rumors about me that aren't true. I speak the truth, as unfortunate as it was it was completely necessary."**

"Necessary how...?"

"**Oh, just to restore your magic." **The demon king replied with a smile, clearly proud of his cunning.

Emilia didn't understand it.

"How does saving humans help my magic...?"

This time the Devil's smile turned to a mischievous full-toothed grin, baring large white teeth with sharp fangs, no degree of modesty being wasted upon him.

"**I made them believe an **_**angel**_** did it."**

Emilia arched her brow.

"And why would _you_ do such a thing?"

Satan's smile disappeared, replaced by an expression of all-out seriousness.

"**I've already said why. I would reinstate you to your full power. Just as the terror, sin, and despair of those humans restore me, their compassion and hopefulness of divine help during these trying times shall replenish you and your celestial force."**

The room fell silent.

"...You still haven't explained what you're doing in my room."

Satan itched the back of his head in embarrassment as he looked away, a surprisingly human act for the demon, even Emilia caught herself, jaw a gasp at his gesture.

"**Ah right about that...Well, that collapse was no normal quake, somebody more than likely caused it to kill us. Someone with that kind of power surely won't relent once they realize it was a failed attempt. I'm here to make sure nobody would try to kill you while you were unconscious."**

"Why? Want that pleasure all for yourself?"

"**..."**

Emilia looked out to her now open window, the sound of birds singing chimed as sunlight slowly began to fill the room.

"Sigh... Well I'm fine now, so get out of my roo-"

By the time Emi looked back, he was already gone.

**(A/N for those who thought that Dante quote at the beginning was random...)**

Chiho searched her surroundings in a dazed fashion, her eyelids barely keeping themselves aloft. She seemed to be in a dark forrest, the trees that now surrounded her were twisted and contorted, their dark branches leafless as winter. The ground beneath her bare feet was cold and damp, with a thick fog that creepily flowed just below her ankles.

"Where... Where am I?"

The teen looked around, all the while rubbing her eyes as she attempted to put aside her drowsiness, once that had been done she came to realize that she had absolutely no idea where on earth she was, if she even _was_ on earth...

The thought was obviously irrational, but even still it remained in her thoughts, tormenting her to the point where she began to fear her surroundings all the more, and they were frightening enough to begin with.

Chiho once again glanced around at her surroundings, searching through any glimpse of familiarity in the dark wood.

She found none.

"Should... Should I..."

Her curiosity and fear, getting the best of her, the teen made her choice.

As the hot wind blasted in her face, Chiho continued further, walking tentatively into the darkness.

* * *

"_**Enough,**_** Alciel."**

"Please sire, just one more try."

Satan let out an annoyed grunt.

"**You barely have enough magic for the portal at your full power, what makes you so sure you could open it now with only a fraction of it?"**

"It is possible I could create a lesser portal, just big enough to transport a single person..."

"**And by chance, who would you send?"**

"Why you of course my lord! If you return to Ente Isla you could use the fear created by your return to restore yourself to full power, and finish what we started!"

"**But what of you?"**

Alciel kneeled.

"I shall gladly lay down freedom of this world in pursuit of your goals, milord."

Satan couldn't help but smile.

"**Alciel, I appreciate your loyalty, but it's unnecessary. I couldn't return to Ente Isla now even if I wanted to."**

Alciel's brow arched.

"Milord?"

"**I have... unfinished business to take care of here."**

Alciel sighed.

"Sire?"

"**What is it?"**

"This has to do with _her_ doesn't it?"

The Devil did not respond.

Alciel lifted himself up with a sigh.

"Sire..."

Still, the Devil did not respond. Alciel's brow lowered, his expression a sudden image of utter seriousness

"Satan."

Said demon turned, his red eyes wide with surprise. It had been many years since he had heard Alciel refer to him by name.

"Satan, I'm your general as well as your friend. I can't just watch you torture yourself like this."

"**...I really have no idea what you're talking about..."**

"Please sire, do not play me for a fool. I know what she is Satan. Just because she is nephilim does not mean you need to help her... She came here to kill you."

"**Alciel, I-"**

"Forgive my rudeness, but this isn't you! This girl, she-" Alciel stopped himself as he noticed the demon king's eyes looking right into his own... no, they were looking _through_ him, into his very soul.

Alciel fell silent as his lord slowly stepped towards him, his gaze intensifying with each and every step.

"**I'm not so **_**weak, **_**Alciel."**

Alciel did not answer.

"**Do you think me a moping child, crying for the pity of those around me?"**

Satan's face pulled closer to that of his general's

"_**Do you really think me so SOFT?"**_

"S-Sire I-"

"**You're right, she's nephilim, the first one in centuries, and it's also true I am restoring her to her full power."**

Satan took a step closer.

"**But you misinterpret my actions. The reason I'm doing this, the reason I'm restoring her strength..**_**.**_**"**

The Devil's eyes flashed a bright red.

"**Is so it will be all the more pleasurable when I **_**tear out her throat."**_

Alciel stood motionless.

"**She killed my army, got in the way of my plans, forced me into this pathetic world. I'll kill her slowly, and when I do, I'll return to Ente Isla and **_**finish what I started.**_**"**

Despite their brightness, the demon king's eyes only felt darker, more terrifying.

When his gaze fell upon him, even the Devil's own general felt fear.

"**I am the Devil. And soon Ente Isla shall once again know the terror of my vengeance."**

* * *

"WHERE THE _HELL_ AM I!?"

As time went by, Chiho grew more and more desperate. She had wandered the same forrest for what felt like hours, but no matter where she turned, or how far she ran, she only found more trees.

Once more, the teen's mind raced with worry.

"_Will I be stuck here forever?" "I want to go home..." "Will I ever see my parents again?"_

Her mind was tormented by the questions, the thought of dying here, of her parents never knowing what became of her or not even noticing she was gone was unbearable.

Chiho began to cry.

A shaky voice called out from the mist.

"_Chi...chan..."_

Chiho's eyes shot open. "_Was that..."_

"_Chi...chan... help..._

The teen sprinted towards the voice.

"MAOU-SAN!?"

* * *

Emi had sat around all day.

There was nothing _wrong_ with it, mind you, it was her day off, _God_ forbid she took it to relax. But in truth, she was everything but relaxed. Conflict stirred in the air. It seemed like with each passing day, the Devil grew stronger, while she remained static. It felt as if fate was taunting her, forcing her to watch her mortal enemy get stronger and stronger, while she lived as a simple human.

That was another thing that left her uneasy.

She now knew she wasn't human, she never was. She always suspected it, that night when she transformed... that surge of power that had since flowed through her veins, it didn't feel like something a normal human was capable of.

And it wasn't but it seemed the nephilim were perfectly capable of such raw energy. That name, _Nephilim; _the word still held a sort of power in the Hero's mind.

It made her mad.

The way the demon king spoke of it, he made it sound like the nephilim were something powerful, something godlike, but if that was true then... _why?_

Why was she stuck like this, Powerless? Powerless to stop the Devil, powerless to do anything but watch as he grew stronger, taunting her with his gradual return to his former self?

It was infuriating! She was the _Hero!_ The champion of the human race! Their trump card against the the demon king and his army! Why was she to remain so weak while _he_ only grew stronger!? Why did she have to rely on _his_ help to get back her power!?

"Damnit... DAMNIT!" Emi tugged at her hair in frustration.

"Why, why, WHY!? The Hero screamed, throwing her fist into the wall, it's surface demolished and innards ruptured

Emi stared at her clenched fist in wonder.

She could _feel_ herself getting stronger. Was the he actually telling the truth? Did those people he apparently rescued _actually_ believe they were saved by an angel?

"Damn it." Emi silently cursed to herself. Why was he helping her? Could it be that his apparent desire to once again fight her on equal terms was actually the truth?

She came to Earth to kill him... could it be that he would kill her first?

Emi stared at her now open palm, the very hand that had once contained a powerful holy artifact, one that she had always dreamed she would shove through the demon king's ribcage.

But now that hand was empty, she was no longer a Hero, the savior of the human race, now she was just a citizen, a citizen of a country in a world that she barely understood.

Emi sighed.

"Is this... to be my fate?"

Emi gazed into her open window.

Outside there were no villages, no castles. There were no knights or mages, and from what she could tell, no angels.

But there were demons.

Two demons who, at the height of their power, terrorized and butchered her homeland.

Two demons who she and her comrades had fought, and successfully driven out.

Two demons who were no longer at the height of their power.

Two demons who were now mortal.

Two demons who were now, killable.

Emi once again stared at her open palm, though this time with a strong feeling of empowerment.

"_Two demons who were now killable."_

With that thought, Emilia burst into an explosion of light and feathers.

* * *

"_MAOU-SAN!?"_

Chiho repeatedly shouted as she sprinted through the forrest, desperate to find the source of the voice.

"_Chi...chan..."_

There it was again.

The sound tortured her, over and over it called for help in the same voice as the man she could never stop thinking about. It sent her mind racing, she rapidly would ask herself questions like "_Is this for real!?" "Is Maou-san really here!?" "Why does he sound like he's in pain!?"_

But no matter how hard she ran, or how many times she shouted out, she couldn't find him. Collapsing from exhaustion, Chiho relented one, final shout.

"MAOU-SAN!?"

Chiho felt her vision begin to fade, her body could do nothing but obey as she slowly slipped away into sweet unconsciousness.

Chiho's vision began to grow darker.

darker.

darker.

"_Chi...chan?"_

Chiho snapped back to life, her eyes wide and alert, the voice had sounded much, much closer than before.

Chiho spun around to face a wounded, bloodied, Maou.

"M-Maou-san..."

Chiho looked in horror at the man before her.

He was covered in what appeared to be stab wounds, each gushing out a dark shade of crimson. His shoulders were hunched over, his limbs shuddered as they fought to support themselves. His skin was pale, even paler than usual.

"M-Maou-san w-what happe- WOAH!"

The teen was interrupted by the sudden collapse of the wounded man onto her shoulder.

Chiho was disturbed by how light he felt, like all the weight had drained out of him.

Lifting his head, Chiho looked into his eyes.

Even in this state, they were still so captivating, their odd color and shape were mesmerizing, but also terrifying to look into at the same time.

Their color began to fade.

Remembering what she was doing, Chiho quickly checked his pulse, it was slow, but still barely present.

"_What should I Do!?" _She franticly looked about the area. "_What can I possibly do in this situati-"_

Chiho was once again interrupted, this time by the wheezing sound that came as Maou collapsed to the ground.

A pool of crimson flowed from underneath his near-lifeless body.

Chiho screamed and rushed down to help, but there was nothing she could do.

Maou was dead.

"No... no... this... this is..."

Chiho clasped both hands over he mouth as the tears streaked down her cheeks.

"T-This cant be r-real!" Chiho stood up, slowly backing away from the corpse before her.

She began to become irrational.

"_T-That's right! T-This can't be real! I'm... I'm just dreaming! I just need to c-close my eyes... and then I'll wake up in my room, and I'll see Maou at work tomorrow!"_

"_I-I'll just close my eyes and..."_

She clasped her eyes tight.

"Wake... up...?"

What Chiho now saw was _not_ her room.

Nor was it a forrest.

In truth, she didn't know where she was, it was all too dark.

"H-Hello?"

"_H-Hello?'_

"_An echo..."_ The teen noted. It must've been a very large room.

Chiho called out as she began to tread around nervously.

"I-I's anyone there?"

Dead silence.

A bead of sweat ran down the teen's forehead, unusual considering how cold she was.

But completely normal if you considered her absolute fright in the situation.

"P-Please I don- _AEEGHHH_"

Chiho was interrupted as she flew back, blasted away by what seemed to be a bolt of lightning striking at what she guessed was the middle of the room.

"Oooowwww..." Chiho rubbed her head as she lifted herself up, a small trickle of blood running across her forehead.

As the teen opened her eyes, she stood agasp to see the room that had suddenly sprung to life.

The room was no longer pitch black, illuminated solely by a pale moonlight. Upon further inspection Chiho discovered the moon was in fact two, of red and blue colors, their pale rays reaching adamantly through protruding ornate windows. The walls were made of an ebony-colored stone, supporting a grand tiled roof alongside ten tall pillars, integrated with the images of a dragon crawling up their length.

The floor was dark and glassy, but littered with cracks and scratches that threatened it's smoothness. Upon the center of it lied a grand long carpet, it's colors made of a dark mix of reds, purples and blacks. It had a very strange design on it, upon the likes of nothing she had ever seen, it also gave Chiho the sensation of a a great emptiness in her core the longer she stared into it. Distracting herself once more, Chiho focussed to the other side of the room. What she saw frightened her even further.

There was a man.

He sat in a grand throne nonchalantly, his cheek resting upon a light fist. Though she couldn't see his eyes, (They were hidden by a strangely familiar mop of unkempt teal hair) Chiho swore they were staring right at her... no, the better description would be to say that they were staring right _through_ her, almost as if they gazed upon her very _soul._

Chiho took a deep breath, mustering all her courage, and spoke.

"Excuse me, sir?"

The man said nothing.

Chiho tried again.

"Mister?"

Again, the man said nothing, nor did he move, not in the slightest.

Chiho closed in for further inspection.

As she closed the gap between them and got closer, Chiho let out a gasp.

_The man wasn't a man._

Chiho couldn't tell whether or not he was even human!

He certainly didn't look it.

Even sitting down he was incredibly tall, Chiho guessed he was 7-8 feet, now much closer the teen could see that his eyes were a flaming reddish orange, with slitted pupils like that of a beast. His hair was unkempt, and once again the odd familiarity of it's color, now including that of his eye's had captivated her beyond belief.

But the thing that scared her the most were the horns.

_He has horns _she screamed mentally_._ They were twisted and contorted, like that of a Devil's, a odd bronze hue about their rough surface.

Another thing was his manner of dress, he wore black onyx mantle, a dark gold pattern dancing about the rim of the collar. At his broad shoulders stood 3 plated pauldrons, their color and form resembling that of his horn's.

Underneath the cloak was something a little bit more recognizable, he wore a noble-looking dull purple two piece garment, with a simple leather belt that bore a ornate silver buckle that seated slightly above his waist, letting the small remainder of the shirt loose below.

His pants were a little more strange. Above the knee level they appeared in the same manner and color to that of the shirt, though below that began a series of shining armored plates that decorated his oddly shaped shins.

staring down at his feet the teen let out yet another gasp.

_Hooves, he had hooves._

Upon closer investigation she concluded that he had the legs of a goat.

Chiho began to breathe heavily.

"_First horns and now hooves!? Could it be that he's actually a-"_

Her thoughts were interrupted at the sound of a large creaking as the doors opposite to her at the other side of the hall opened.

Chiho felt the ground quake beneath her feet with each loud footstep, whatever was approaching was large, and heavy.

The quakes grew larger and larger until finally, two figures appeared in the door way.

One was ginormous, towering over even the man beside her, while the other was far smaller than the both of them, closer to her own size.

Also, one of them wasn't human.

The larger one dragged the human by the hair, his bare heels sliding across the cracked floor.

as they approached the throne, the larger one lowered his knee.

_"Pc lokx."_

It spoke in a strange language, it sounded very odd and mismatched.

"_French, perhaps?" _She quietly wondered.

_**"Kije, zkohtek. Ftah ij ih cou tage zkouvth pe?"**_

Chiho jumped.

The man in the throne just spoke. His voice boomed across the hall in a very dark tone, just hearing it gave the teen a small sense of hopelessness, and the other human a great degree of fear.

It too, however, sounded strangely familiar.

The larger beast rose and presented his prize, throwing the human forward in front of the throne.

_"A tupan wkop hte fejh, te ylaipj ho tage zeen mkejenh xukinv hte ahhayr."_

The man in the throne starred down at the human who laid before his feet, his dark gaze fixated on him with what appeared to be a slight anger.

_**"Cou tage xone fell, jolxiek. Couk ewwokhj ake ammkeyiahex. Iw cou foulx leage pe..."**_

With a nod, the larger beast left, shutting the doors behind him.

The throned man rose, his clamping hooves echoing throughout the hall as he proceeded to walk over to the human on the ground.

_**"Tupan, cou fill hell pe egekchtinv cou rnof."**_

The human looked up at him with a questioning glare.

"**Ah, I had forgotten you humans do not speak the demon tongue."**

Chiho gasped, this confirmed it. She was in the presence of a demon.

And from what she could tell, a powerful one at that.

The demon took a step closer.

"**You will tell me everything you saw, human. You will not spare a single detail, however minimal."**

"N-Never! I fear you not, Demon!"

Chiho spied a small grin form upon the demon's lips.

"_**Fear,**_** is it? You misunderstand, human..."**

The demon grabbed the human by collar, lifting him high into the air.

"**...I wasn't **_**asking.**_**"**

Beads of sweat began to pour down the man's face.

"**You must be very brave, or so you claim, to not fear the Devil..."**

"_The DEVIL?"_ A strong expression of fear found it's way onto the teen's face.

An expression that was soon shared by the human lifted in the air.

"**But you know, I find that there are two types of people in this world..."**

The demon placed a clawed hand over the man's left shoulder.

"**...There are those who claim things in their false sense of **_**security...**_**"**

He slowly began to tug at the man's arm.

"**...And those who actually prove them."**

In one swift motion, the demon tore the man's arm from it's socket. Filling the dark hall with gut wrenching screams of agony.

"**...Now then, before you bleed out, tell me..."**

The demon pulled his face closer to that of the man's.

"_**Now **_**do you fear me?"**

The man only continued his screams of agony.

"**I'll take that as a yes. But back to the matter at hand, tell me everything you saw during the western attack."**

The man only kept screaming.

The demon sighed as he grabbed at the man's other arm.

"W-Wait...! I-I'll tell... you..."

"**Thats better, hurry now, I'd prefer to get my information without resorting to necromancy..."**

"W-We were f-falling back... Lucifer's armies were ad...vancing too close... t-to the castle..."

"**Go on."**

"We w-were all but cornered, I thought f-for certain I was d-done... for..."

"**Keep going."** The demon demanded, clearly getting annoyed.

"But b-before they could break... through the walls..."

The man's eyes started to drift downward, his eyelids slowly closing.

"**What. What happened."**

"...A... H-He..."

The man slowly slipped out of the demon's grip collapsing with a hard thud onto the floor.

"...A H-He... a H-Her..."

Blood slowly began to pool from the man's mouth.

"A H-Hero... saved... us..."

The man now laid dead.

Chiho took a moment to register what had just happened. Did she just see a man get brutally murdered by the Devil?"

"...Kami..."

Chiho looked up at the Devil, he still stood, staring intensely at the corpse with a unfathomable anger.

"_**Alciel!"**_

Instantly, a large portal appeared before the Devil, displaying what seemed to be a blonde reptilian demon on a battlefield of some kind.

"What is it you require, my lord?"

"**Send a lycanthrope detachment to a western island! I want them to search for any clues as to what has happened of Lucifer!"**

The blonde demon's eyes widened with shock.

"Of course my lord, right away!"

The Devil made a waving gesture with his hand, closing the portal.

He stood in the center of the room, his face emotionless, though it didn't last.

A cruel smile formed upon his lips.

"_**Hehe."**_

Chiho's eyes widened. "_Was he actually...?"_

"_**Hehahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHA!"**_

_He was laughing._

Chiho slowly backed away in fear.

"**HAHAHAHAHA! A Hero you say... hahahaha..."**

He began to step towards the large pair of doors, a dark smoke-like aura emitting from his body.

"**Looks like the war's finally started."**

Chiho now stood in the center of the large room, alone, terrified.

She slowly slumped down, eventually collapsing completely onto her knees.

"_The Devil...?"_

A million questions raced through her mind. "_What's going on!?" "Was that really the Devil!?" "First that forrest with Maou and now this... oh Kami, am I in Hell!?"_

Chiho didn't attempt to keep the tears at bay, she wanted nothing more than to cry right now, besides to be free of this awful situation.

Once again, a bolt of lightning struck the center of the room.

Chiho opened her eyes.

Oddly enough she was in the same room, albeit a little darker than before, if such a thing was possible.

Though looking around, she did discover a few key differences.

There was now a small pit carved into the floor in front of her, almost as if there had been some sort of meteor, as well as a rather large hole behind the throne, revealing a starry night sky. Approaching the throne, she discovered a shattered bronze colored object, by her guess it looked like it used to be some kind of horn.

"_A horn..."_ Chiho backed away slowly, suddenly remembering what she had witnessed just a few moments ago.

_Then she bumped into something._

Chiho turned around tentatively, scared at what she might find.

It was him.

It was the Devil.

Before she could speak, the Devil placed one clawed hand on her shoulder, quickly shoving the other straight through her abdomen.

Chiho screamed, the pain shooting through her stomach as fast as the hand that had just pierced all the way through her back.

Chiho looked up to see his face; it was blank, and emotionless. His eyes hidden behind his hair.

As the pain grew it became too much for her, and she felt her vision fade.

Darker.

Darker.

Darker.

Her last sight before death, was a pair of glowing red eyes that now stared directly into her own.

Chiho awoke in her room with a scream.

* * *

Maou let out a groan.

He was incredibly bored.

Being a part-timer at his job was infuriating, he had nothing to do when he got home, besides sneak out and enjoy the occasional movie (It seemed these humans did get some things right) and the even more rare midnight walk, something he had stopped since he kept spying Emi out of the corner of his eye each time he went out.

But now simply he sat in his small, dull room, in his small, dull human body.

A fact that disgusted him.

He hated this room, he hated this body, he hated this _world._ (**AN: How the Maou stole the apocalypse...)**

It tormented him to know how small he was in this world.

He worked at a dead-end job, ate dead-end meals, and did little to nothing besides sit around all day waiting for it to end, only to rinse and repeat the next morning.

How many days, weeks, _months_ had he been on Earth? He had long since lost count.

When he came here he sought to simply recover and return to Ente Isla, though fate had decreed otherwise.

Until he regained his power, he was to remain in this world.

Maou sat on the only furniture he had, a lone table that sat smack dab in the middle of the room, staring at an open palm.

It would be wrong to call it his, it was soft, pink, and brittle.

Maou found himself in a state of self-pity. He missed the days where he could look down upon his clawed hand without the worry of losing his magic, where he could carelessly flap his wings through the night sky as he quite literally rained hell upon human encampments. He had at least earned that right. He didn't become who he did by some lucky birth right or by twiddling his thumbs, he sacrificed much, earned every title, every frightening rumor (which weren't always rumors.) he had spread his influence from Hell to the Heavens. He felt cheated now that all that was taken from him.

Lifting himself off of the table, he proceeded into the room's small bathroom, staring with no small manner of sadness into the mirror. This face was similar to his own, but not close enough. He felt like a child, unable to take himself seriously due to the lack of horns, and despite their by human standards already abnormal look, his eyes lacked their ferocity depicted in his true form.

But that was when the lights were on.

When he flipped the switch, and allowed the room to darken, he saw a very different image.

He saw himself. His true face, both his horns still intact, the collar of his mantle still visible behind his neck, and the same stare that could make even the most horrid beast beg for mercy. He smiled a cruel smile that only a devil could, revealing 2 rows of pure white teeth with sharp elongated canines. When he spoke, his voice, even in the small bathroom, seemed to echo in the distance, the darkness befitting it's tone.

_THIS_ was him. He was not Sadao Maou, japanese part timer at a fast food restaurant.

He was Satan Jacob, the demon king, and the Devil.

But as much as he disliked his human form, he had to remain in it.

He would save his magic for the coming battle...

A battle he knew would be soon.

Almost as if in response, he heard a knock on the door. walking out from the bathroom, he proceeded over to the door, pressing his eye wood while allowing a small amount of magic to flow into his slitted pupils.

Searching through the makeshift magic peephole, He discovered a very surprising sight: A length of long, silver hair with bright red eyes that rivaled his own.

Maou opened the door with an astonished look on his face.

"_Emilia!?"_

Said Hero walked indifferently into the room, casually passing by the demon king without word or glance.

Maou stood agasp at the girl, her face remained the same, thought with her now silver hair and red eyes, she looked _very_ different. More enchanting, less human, and thought he would never say it aloud, he couldn't help but think she look far more beautiful.

" _I've never saw her without her helmet...This must be her nephilim state..."_ He quietly noted, unsure and admittedly a little curios as to why she had suddenly transformed.

"You're looking... different. Kinda nice, actually." The demon king said in an uncharacteristic tone of nervousness, eager to ease the tension in the room and perhaps gain an answer or two.

"Spare me of your compliments, Satan. They're not what I came here for." Emilia replied with her brow arched at the demon king's statement, as well as the odd look of astonishment on his face.

Maou suddenly snapped back to himself, his face returning to it's usual expression, along with his voice.

"**Then what **_**are**_** you here for?"**

Emilia took a few steps closer, a hint of intimidation in her strut.

"I came to ask you a question, demon king."

Maou's eyes narrowed.

"**...And what, by chance, would the nature of this question be?"**

"Personal." she replied darkly.

Maou blinked in surprise, followed by a slight lowering of his inner brow.

"**What do you want?"**

Emilia walked ever closer, in a manor that almost felt like she was challenging the demon king.

"I came to ask you one question, and one question only."

"**Then get to the point, and ask it."**

This time Emilia's face turned to an full on frown.

"Tell me this, Devil, do you know what it's like to lose someone?"

A dead silence filled the room, Emilia could no longer see Maou's eyes.

"**What did you just ask me...?"**

"I asked if you know what it's like to lose someone close to you."

Maou's face grew more stern, his slowed breathing and slight flaring nostrils told the girl that the question had upset him.

"**Why... Do you ask me this... Emilia?"**

Emilia stared directly at him, a rage boiling inside her.

"_Because when I kill you, I want to know whether or not you've suffered enough."_

Maou stood motionless as, in a flash, Emilia summoned her sword and with it, _ran him through._

* * *

Chiho ran as fast as she could.

She hardly knew why, but for some reason after that nightmare, she just _had_ to see Maou.

Maybe it was because of that forrest, and she worried for his safety, but what she really needed was to make sense of what came after.

Again, she didn't know why, but that scene in the castle, that demon... the Devil.

After seeing that she just felt compelled to speak to the man, to make sense of what she saw, and especially, _to make sense as to why the Devil in her dream reminded her so much of him._

It was only small features, the way his hair was shaped and colored, his expression, and especially his eyes, but for some reason she just couldn't think of anybody but Maou when she thought of the horned man.

How her life had changed since she met him.

A night a few days before she met the man, her father came home dazed, his eyes carrying bags with their color faded, the whole time murmuring about two men dressed in odd clothing, one of them was of frequent repetition, someone her father kept identifying as _hte Xegil_. About a week later when she first walked through the doors into her workplace did she meet him, his messy teal hair and oddly shaped red eyes captivating her beyond belief. The first few days he was indifferent to her, in fact he barely talked or looked at anyone, even the manager, who, when she did talk to him, would always seem to stay in a dazed state similar to her father's for the rest of the evening.

It was only after the first month or so of his working there did he begin to interact with the girl, sporting a wide smile that differentiated highly from his initial expressions, not that she noticed anyway, she was far too busy admiring him. It was also then that she noticed that the restaurant began to become more lively, frequent customers returning almost daily for their fill while the new guy Sadao Maou rised through the ranks, eventually earning the position of assistant manager.

By then, Chiho had fallen completely, head over heals, in love with the man.

He had always been a mystery to her.

"_Perhaps that's why I'm running."_ She thought, perhaps it was that very mysteriousness about him that compelled her to seek answers from him to questions she felt that no other could solve. But she couldn't deny there was a similarity between him and the demon she saw in her dream.

She could only _pray _it was what her imagination was telling her it was.

Seeing the apartment complex in the distance, Chiho continued running.

* * *

The blade sank deep into the demon king's torso, it's hilt pressing against his chest.

Emilia could hear the blood drip from the sword's tip, now protruding from the Devil's back. She listened eagerly for the screams, but there were none to be heard, not so much as a whimper.

The hairs on her neck rose as Maou spoke.

"Yes."

Emilia looked up at his face; it was blank and emotionless, his eyes staring straight ahead, though appearing to be really looking at nothing.

She began to back away in shock, letting go of the blade's handle, leaving it imbedded in Maou's chest.

"_How is he still alive!?_

"What... did you say...?"

This time Maou turned to face her, a sadness now evident in his ruby red eyes.

"I said yes."

Maou inhaled shakily through his nostrils.

"I know what it's like to lose someone..."

Emilia backed up into the kitchen section of the room, her hands spreading against the sink in panic.

"L-Liar! What could you possibly know about loss!?"

Maou stood shakily in the center of the room, his head tilted with his bangs once again falling over his eyes.

"You'd could live a thousand years, live long enough to see the last star burn out, watch as all those you knew and loved turn to ash, and never know the pain I've felt."

Emilia watched as the demon king's hands slowly clench into fists.

"But... in the end... it's not about the pain, is it?"

Maou's head rose. Emilia could see the fires now blazing in his eyes.

"It's about what comes afterwards..."

The holy sword began to tremble in Maou's chest, it's blade releasing a light steam as his body began to flicker with all too familiar black flames.

"The need..."

Maou's body shook as if containing a great anger.

"The..**. need..."**

Emilia noticed the demon king gritting his teeth, his canines becoming longer and more prominent.

Maou's eyes shot wide, glowing ferociously as horns burst from his temples.

"_**FOR VENGEANCE!"**_

In an instant, the blade shot from his chest, the room exploding into blackness.

Maou still stood in the center of the room, his body mid-transformed as his feet caught fire, red pentagrams forming about the space.

Behind the flames Maou grabbed at his temples in stress, his body rapidly growing and shrinking as his shadow flickered between his true and current forms.

"**The need to take vengeance on those who dared to take them away from you! To feel their throat between your **_**claws**_** as you... GGGRRrrraahh!"**

Maou's head shot up as he exhaled an burst of flames.

"_**Xapn cou Teagen! I jtall jlauvthek cou all! No pahhek tof panc ceakj, tof panc yenhukiej ih harej, I fill enx cou anx hte xigine! Htah... IJ PC GENVEANYE!"**_

Emilia stared in terror at the demon king's ferocity, subconsciously picking up her sword with a tight grip.

The black flames grew more violent as Maou continued, his shadow looking more and more like it's true self. If Emilia could see past the flames, she would see crimson tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"**From now until the end of days I will hunt you! I will not tire, I will not relent, I will become death itself if only to swing my dark scythe against your throats! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR TAKING HER AWAY FROM ME!"**

Emilia watched as Maou collapsed onto his knees, the blood red tears streaming down his cheeks.

"**Any more **_**questions**_** Emilia?"** Maou asked coldly with shaking breath, his eyes once more invisible behind his bangs.

The darkness subsided as he slowly lifted himself off the ground, his features steadily returning to normal.

The demon king turned back to a silent Emilia, her holy sword still held tightly in her grip.

"I've known pain, and it's that very pain that will keep me going. You could slice, stab, impale me with that sword a million times over, and you wouldn't even slow me down.

Maou pulled his face closer to her's.

"I can't die Emilia, I wont die. I won't stop fighting until I've had my vengeance, and until you've grown more powerful, no matter how holy the sword, be it a wooden stick or _Excalibur_..."

Emilia stared back into Maou's eyes with no small amount of fright.

"...You will _never_ defeat m-"

Maou stopped mid-speech as he glanced towards an open doorway, a terrified Chiho Sasaki shaking within.

Maou hastily pulled away from the frightened Emilia, putting on fake smile.

"C-Chi-chan, what's up?"

Chiho didn't answer, instead shakily pointing to the gaping hole in Maou's chest.

Maou's face went pale.

"N-Now I can explain that..."

The scared teen's gaze shot towards Emilia, who now stood sword in hand, demonic blood still dripping from it's blade.

With a scream, Chiho ran.

Maou slapped his palm to his forehead before turning back to Emilia.

"You just _had_ to try an kill me _now_, didn't you? Honestly! Just because you have a holy sword doesn't negate the fact that you need to be at full strength to be able to fight me!"

Emilia swung her sword defiantly.

"Shut up! How was I supposed to know that girl would come to your apartment!? What were you going to do with her anyways!?"

Maou jumped back.

"WHAT THE _HELL_ ARE YOU TALKING ABOU-"

"_~Well isn't this the marital strife?"_

Both pairs of eyes shot once again towards the open doorway, though this time the sight was far less appealing.

Emilia threw up a little.

"A-Ah miss Mik- UMPH"

Maou caught himself before he did the same, his hand quickly reaching to cover his mouth before nervously scratching the backside of his head.

"F-For what do I owe to pleasure of the this visit?"

"~Well it _is_ my apartment complex, and I thought I'd come see what was with all the commotion." The creature replied, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

The large woman flamboyantly sniffed the air.

"~Is that smoke?"

Maou mentally slapped himself.

"Ah yes, well... um, about t-that...I..."

"~May I ask who that young girl was? I'm very curious..." Mika looked over to a still-transformed Emilia, a wan smile spread across her lips.

The latter's gaze shot down to the floor, not wanting to look the disturbing creature in the eye.

"~You there, I believe I've seen you here before? Odd, Usually your outside next to the windows...have you done something with your hair?"

It was now Emilia's turn to repeat the mental slap.

"A-Ah yes well... I, um... I'm... cos...playing..." The Hero's face turned a bright red.

"~Well that _would_ explain the eyes, now wouldn't it? I must say they're rather pretty, almost other-worldly..." Mika said in a almost mocking tone.

Maou's eyes narrowed.

"_Does she..."_

"~Tell me, wherever did you get them?"

A dark smile formed on the Devil's lips.

"_So thats how you want to play it, eh?"_

The large woman turned back to Maou.

"~Now then, about that gir-"

"If I make interject, miss Mika, we have to go find that girl, you know how unsafe it is for a girl her age in times like these."

The large woman expressed a face of shock, one that suggested she was not used to being interrupted, before settling down to a cold smile.

"~Yes, I imagine they are. Though one must wonder... will they soon escalate?"

"_Oh_, I couldn't say." Maou's replied with an even darker grin.

Emilia stared in silence at the two, staring at each other with almost challenging glares.

The large woman relented with a kind smile.

"~Well, then I suppose you should be going. But please, If you can, try to avoid killing any of my little ones, _demon king_."

Emilia gasped, staring intently at the woman before her.

Maou made no such action, instead gesturing Emilia to follow him as he proceeded to the doorway, taking a moment before he exited.

"**I can make no promises, **_**Guardian. **_**Though worry not, I'll see if I can't avoid killing too many of your precious humans."**

With that, the two left, the doorknob they used left steaming red from the Devil's grip.

The large woman sighed before taking out her phone.

* * *

Chiho's chest thumped harder and harder with each and every lunge.

She sprinted relentlessly, her feet burning as she continued to run, bumping and shoving into the people in her way.

Her mind raced as her legs did the same.

"_Not again not again not again not again..."_

After that nightmare was over, she found solace, little as there was, in the fact it was only a dream, though now there was no comfort to be found as she had now discovered her literal worst nightmare in the physical world.

"_But if Maou-san got hurt..."_

Chiho stopped dead in her tracks, a crowd of people passing her by with no notice.

"_Oh kami... don't tell me He'll appear too!"_

A young, mocking voice sounded in her thoughts.

"_Appear? Foolish girl, He's been right in front of you all along..."_

Chiho cringed at the sound of the voice, it was dark, but light at the same time, if such a thing were possible.

It also spoke in a tone almost similar to Maou's, though to a lesser extent.

"W-Who said that?"

The teen searched the crowd, but to no avail. Whoever had spoken was well hidden within the mass of civilians.

"Who's there? What do you mean by h-he's be right in front of me? Who?"

This time, the voice came from directly behind her.

"_Why, the Devil of course."_

Before Chiho could react, the crowd burst into panic, rubble collapsing around them as nearby buildings exploded in purple bursts of light.

Chiho was about to scream, but the sudden appearance of a pale, wrinkly hand over her mouth silenced her before she could do so.

"Hush now little one... You'll play your part soon enough..."

The teen's scream became muffled by the hand as she quickyl drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Maou, wait!" Emi grabbed the demon king by the arm, her grip tightening as he tried to pull free.

Emi pulled his face closer to her's, a serious stare playing across her still-red eyes.

"Just what do you plan to do to that girl once we find her?"

Maou turned his head away, refusing to answer.

Emi's grip tightened further.

"Don't tell me you plan to-"

"I won't kill her." Maou stated matter-of-factly, now staring back into Emi's red eyes with those of his own, their expression oddly less dark then usual.

Her grip loosened.

"W-What? You mean..."

Maou managed a small smile

"I can't just go up an kill my co worker, can I? Though I will probably have to erase her memory, doubt I can make up an explanation for what she saw..."

Emi's eyes widened with shock. "_Was he actually being... nice?"_

Maou, noticing the look in her eyes, replied.

"Emilia... Despite the way I acted earlier I..."

Maou sighed.

"I can tell by the way you asked me what you did, you've also come to know the pain of loosing someone. While it may or may not be as great a loss as mine, I cannot say, that is something I will never steal from your thoughts."

Emi let go completely, backing away as Maou continued.

"In either case... I'm guessing it was by my hand that they died."

Maou's eyes stared even deeper into Emi's.

"It would be hypocritical to deny you vengeance. But if you're gonna be my reaper's scythe, than I would at least have you know that there is more to me than just some evil demon king."

Maou gaze fell down to his feet.

"I was a demon before I became a Devil, and despite what the humans or the church may have taught you, demons are not what they say."

Emi continued to stare at Maou with a deep curiosity, her supposed enemy was telling her who he was, and despite earlier events, she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"I've lived for a long time, Emilia... I've seen many wonders, and even more nightmares. Demons live hard lives, I never knew the sleep of a peaceful night, or even the warmth of a mother's embrace. Demons have no _god_ to find comfort in, we've only each other, and that is only taken into account at the rarest of times. I've become who I am by no short amount of sacrifice, and an even greater loss... "

Maou looked back up, a sadness playing in his eyes.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, one day, when you finally have enough power to effectively thrust that blade into my heart, I want you to know that I'm not some nameless monster. Before I was the Devil or the demon king I was Satan Jacob, and despite what you may or may not think I've never blindly hated humans."

Emi stood a gasp, unable to believe what she had just heard.

As she opened her mouth to reply, a large quake shot through the ground, the sound of crumbling ruin and panic echoing in the distance.

"Shit, no time to talk!"

Quickly grabbing Emi's hand, Maou dashed forward, his speed surprisingly quick despite his human form.

Thought for him it wasn't surprising.

Maou could definitely feel himself getting stronger, whatever was happening in the distance was causing a great amount of despair. But for whatever reason, he felt as if there should have been more magic, he was receiving very little power from their screams, it felt like an outside force was pulling it away from him, like he was competing for it.

But it was still enough.

Already, Maou could feel what was left of the wound in his chest healing, emitting a thin black smoke as flesh and bone mended together, tightening as his chest and ribcage slowly expanded, growing stronger and larger.

Emi watched as Maou's body slowly transformed, a sigh of relief escaping her lungs as she noticed him struggling to retain his human form, although leaving her a little curious as to why he would do so.

Eventually the two stopped at a large clearing amongst the rubble and collapsed buildings, a large crater centered in between the structures, it's contents littered with freshly unconscious human bodies.

Maou released a wan smile.

"_That guardian... how much magic does she have in this world?"_

"Maou, look!" The demon king was pulled away from his thoughts as Emi once again grabbed his arm with one hand, the other pointing to a particular body in the center of the shallow pit.

It was her. It was Chiho.

Instantly the two dashed forward, Emi hastily checking the girl's pulse' eagerly looking for signs of life.

She released yet another sigh of relief, the girl was breathing, sleeping like a babe.

She looked up to see that Maou had not checked for the girl's well being as she had thought. "_Why did she think that?"_

Instead he stood tall, his red eyes darting around like a predator searching for it's prey.

Her gaze wandering down to his fists, she noticed them tightly clenched, beginning to emit a light steam while growing slightly in size, beginning to resemble more of a claw than a hand.

"_What is he...?"_

"_**GET DOWN!"**_

Emi immediately kneeled down over the unconscious teen, surprising herself with her unusual compliance. Though she was glad she did.

In an instant, the trio was rushed in dash of black feathers, their owner moving too fast for the human eye to see.

Luckily Maou, even in his current state, was _far_ from human.

As soon as the feathered creature came it was sent back flying, shot back by a powerful blow from Maou's steaming fist, disappearing into a nearby building. Not wasting any time, Maou dashed down to Emi and Chiho, stretching his arms in a defensive stance over the two as the scattered black feathers from the creature's earlier attack exploded simultaneously in large bursts of purple fire.

Emi watched as the blood exploded from Maou's back, his face appearing emotionless with his eyes hidden behind teal bangs, if he was in any kind of pain, he wasn't showing it.

Maou's head quickly turned, his body dashing toward the sound of moving rubble, but he was immediately blasted back mid-air by a well-aimed burst of purple light.

Recovering almost immediately, Maou shot to the creature, colliding mid air with a fiery punch. The two shot back into a collapsed book store, their actions hidden in a plume of dust and falling pages.

Emi grunted as she lifted herself off the ground, leaving the girl as she tentatively climbed out of the sloped floor of the crater and towards the store.

With each step she took closer, she felt herself get a little colder, the area was becoming a complete absence of warmth.

The air grew even darker as Maou spoke.

"_**So, my suspicions were correct. You really have been alive all this time, old friend."**_

The hairs on the back of Emi's neck stood on end. She could hear the fierce hostility in Maou's tone.

As the dust cleared, Emi clasped her hand over her mouth in shock at their attacker, someone who she had thought dead, killed by her own hands years ago.

"**Though, now you're just a **_**traitor**_**, isn't that right...**_**?**_**"**

Emi and Maou spoke in unison.

"_**Luci**__fer!?"_

**(A/N) I know, I know, canon ending, but really this is where it kicks off into my own story, you'll notice little hints here and there as to what it's going to feature. Anyways in regard to that little "Gift" I spoke of in apology at the end of the last chapter for how long it took, in all honesty it was just gonna be that spin-off I was talking about, and I think it's a good idea to show a little bit more of my own story in this one before I make it, as they _do_ link up quite importantly. I'll most likely do it after the next chapter, which I am really looking forward to writing. Hopefully you can take the length of this chapter as a gift in the meantime :(**

**BTW, That demon language? Ente Islan! Check out a website called Maouspeak to translate it!**

**Anyways as always thanks for reading, and please leave reviews you devilishly handsome/beautiful/bootiful/awesome people.**

**Devilishly!? Get it!?**

**No?**

**K I'll shut up now...**

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	6. Chapter 6: The war rages on

**(A/N:) I-It's not like I made this for you guys or anything... bakas...**

* * *

"_**Luci**__fer!?"_

Emilia stared intensely with her red eyes at the man she had thought dead by her own hand.

He looked exactly the same as the last time they met.

His long, purple hair still sat atop his head, his long bangs parted to the right of his face, hiding his feral purple eyes. Around his torso he wore his iconic black leather coat, adorned with a multitude of straps and buckles, it's fastened collar reaching just below his chin while in the back it's tail reached slightly above the backside of his knees.

Maou raised the fallen angel slightly higher into the air, his grip tightening around his throat.

"**I always doubted that you had died. The western island's strength lied in it's usage of celestial force, it made no sense that a fallen angel should fall so easily to such a means of attack..."**

"Buu..ghh eind... oo..." Lucifer struggled as he tried to speak through his choked throat.

"**What did you say...?"** Maou asked, pulling the fallen angel's face closer to his own.

Lucifer smiled.

"Behind you."

Immediately Lucifer kicked off of the demon king's chest, literally sending himself flying backwards as a flurry of bullets shot past him, aiming for the pair of demon and nephilim.

Time seemed to slow as Maou bolted, landing in front of the girl arms outstretched, taking in every piece of iron tearing through his torso.

Emilia looked up at the demon king with confusion in her eyes, before he half-turned his face around to address his reasoning.

"Would you let anyone else but yourself kill me?" He asked with a wan smile, surprising her with the tone of his voice. It still sounded like his own, but without the darkness it usually carried about it.

"_You're still as resilient as ever, Satan..."_

Said demon king turned back around, facing the direction of the familiar voice with a disgusted frown.

"**Do not think yourself able to address me so casually, human. I recognize that voice and you are **_**far**_** from worthy of addressing me by name..."**

Emilia squinted past Maou's protective stance, staring curiously into the blackness where the voice had come from, releasing a gasp of shock as the familiar old, robed man stepped out from the shadows.

"**...High priest Olba."**

Emilia stared speechlessly at the old priest, his bald head gleaming in the sunlight as he emerged, pistol in hand with a sly, confident expression on his face.

"Oh, and what if I continue to address you as such, _Satan?_ You're powerless against the two of us. I think I'll call you whatever I please if it's all the same."

Olba's gaze shifted down to Emilia, his smile growing wider as he addressed her.

"Hello, Emilia. Terribly sorry for not joining you on your little trek, but I honestly couldn't stand being with a creature such as you longer than need be."

The words hit her like a pitchfork to her gullet. The one man who showed her kindness as a child was now addressing her like some disgusting filth, like a monster.

She couldn't stop herself as the tears began to burn down her cheeks, the same question repeating over and over in her mind: "_Why?"_

Maou looked down, noticing her expression before looking back up to the priest with a stare both a mix of disgust and fury.

"It's because you're a nephilim..." He said coldly, his words starting to tremble as his rage began to boil.

Emilia looked up at Maou, tears still flowing as he continued.

"The church... the angels... they all hate nephilim... the Heavens views them as abominations, a threat to their ego and their so called _divine right to rule..._"

Maou's fist began to clench tight enough to draw blood.

"No matter who they are, however guilty... or innocent... they always seek to end them..."

Olba smiled coldly.

"You seem to speak from experience, Satan... You know, I've heard stories..."

"Shut... _**Up...**_**."** Maou's voice began to shift back as his rage continued to boil, his chest expanding while his shins and feet began to change shape, horns threatening to sprout free from his mass of messy teal hair.

"One really must wonder, is the Devil really all that frightening? Knowing he's just a _wimpering love-sick puppy..._"

That did it.

The sky seemed to scream in agony as Maou instantaneously transformed, teleporting to the priest as he began to claw at his form, blood splattering about the floor as he mercilessly mutilated the old man's torso.

"**SHUT UP! SHUT UP! BASTARD! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY, BY THE END OF THIS, I SWEAR TO YOU, BY THE END OF THIS YOU'LL KNOW **_**HELL!"**_

Emilia watched frightfully as the Devil tore into the long-since dead corpse of a civilian, his entrails splatting about the pavement while the demon relentlessly shredded his flesh, his claws beginning to steam a black smoke as they darkened.

The Hero shivered as Olba whispered into her ear, feeling the cold metal of the barrel of a gun pressed against her back.

"_Frightening, _isn't it? How with just a little bit of rage you can make even the Devil blind to the simplest of illusions? Look at him... he's not even using magic, he just wants to tear me apart, piece. By. Piece. I wonder, why have you not yet killed such a monster...?"

"Why... why are you doing this?" Emi choked out with a sob, her question answered as the fallen angel quietly landed behind her.

"It's as he said, actually." Lucifer replied, his voice whispering coldly into her other ear as his face pulled to the side of her own to witness Maou's mutilation of the corpse.

"Heaven won't stand for your kind's existence. It's nothing personal, really, but it has to be done, just like how we'll have to kill your mother next..."

Emilia's eye widened at the mentioning of her mother, she never knew the woman, even her father refused to speak of her, always changing the subject whenever she asked.

"M-My... M-Mother?"

"Yeah, church did some digging a while back, turns out she's an archangel. Had she have you with one of her own kind you'd almost be considered royalty. But instead, dear ol' mum decided to bed a farm boy, and Heaven just can't stand for _that_ now can it?"

Despite never meeting her, Emilia would not stand for the comment the former angel made. Summoning all her strength, she shot her elbow into her captor's stomachs, taking the moment the pain hit them to summon her sword before slicing the two across their chests. The cuts were shallow, but still did the trick, earning the nephilim screams of pain from the duo as they retreated a few feet away, both using their magicks to hasten their closing wounds.

Satan heard the screams.

Looking down at the corpse, he realized what a fool he had been, letting a human get the best of his emotions enough to the point where he couldn't even recognize a simple illusion, though still, that man would pay for what he had said.

Emilia jumped a little as the demon king appeared to the left of her, his arms folded, frowning at the pair of betrayers.

"**It seems we both have our traitors..." **he stated looking coldly ahead.

"Yea, it seems we do..." Emilia replied, the tears no longer streaming down her cheeks.

"**I'll make this quick. You stay here an watch over Chi-"**

"No." The demon king looked down to the girl, shocked at her tone. Emilia simply looked back, her red eyes ablaze with determination.

"Olba was my comrade, if anyone is to punish him for his betrayal, it'll be me."

Satan's eyes widened, his lips eventually displaying a wide smile before looking back at the now-recovered duo of traitors.

"**Cool. But that also means you'll have to leave Lucifer to me..."**

Emilia merely shrugged.

"I've killed him once already, if I have to do it again I'll just get bored."

"**Y'know, when you're not pretending to be human you're actually kinda awesome."**

"Thanks."

With that, the duo dashed forward, the Devil with his blackening claws, and the Hero with her iconic sacred sword, each aiming for their respected traitor.

Satan's strike found it's mark, landing a deep slice from his claws into the fallen angel's left wing, a thick line of dark crimson flowing over his black feathers. Wasting no time, he quickly followed through with fierce punch aimed at Lucifer's stomach, causing him to lurch over in pain while coughing out blood before behind sent skyward by a powerful uppercut.

Extending his bat-like wings, the demon king shot ahead of him, preparing to launch the fallen angel back to the ground.

But Lucifer was ready for this.

As Satan launched ahead of him, preparing to send him back to the earth with a powerful two fisted strike, Lucifer, with no small manor of effort, quickly spun around, his wings blinding the demon before a powerful blow landed on his cheek, sending him crashing into a nearby building.

The fallen angel looked towards his supposed comrade, who was barely holding his own against the skilled nephilim.

Emilia sent a flurry of stabs, slices and lunges as she pushed the priest back, the entire time her rage fueling her. Olba had already been hit several times, small wounds appearing about his form, his purple robes a shade darker in the areas that bled the heaviest. Despite the amount of confidence he had displayed earlier, it was quickly faltering. It seemed that no matter who hit who, the girl would get stronger. When she hit him, it was with a blade, cutting through his flesh with ease and appearing to actually absorb some his celestial force with each strike, while if he landed a blow on her, it was only a clenched fist, and she would only get angrier, causing her attacks to become more frequent.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Lucifer screamed out to the priest.

"FIGHTING A NEPHILIM! NOW BE QUIET AND LET M-" Olba's reply was interrupted as Emilia, deciding to change things up, sent a fierce punch to the old priest's upper jaw, her immense strength sending him tumbling onto the cracked pavement.

"No what you're doing is getting your old, wrinkly ass handed to you! Hang on I'm coming down ther-"

"**NO YOU DON'T!" **Satan yelled, his large wings propelling him forward as he tackled the fallen angel mid-air, sending the pair toppling behind a nearby collapsed building, flashes of multi-colored light and fiery explosions rising above into the old priest's field of view.

"Pay attention you arrogant bastard!"

Said attention was brought back to the nephilim by a powerful kick to Olba's head, nearly giving the old priest a concussion.

Once more Lucifer rose into the sky, blood streaming from his forehead down over his face as he tried to address his foolish comrade.

"Stop using those scrawny-ass fists and take this fight seriously, damn you! High priests are known for their mastery of celestial force, am I wrong? THEN HURRY UP AND SHOOT A LITTLE MAGI-"

The fallen angel's motivational speech was cut short by a flying car crashing into his oblivious form.

"Damn it all..." The old man cursed, turning back to the rapidly approaching Emilia. "You want a fight, you nephilim scum? Alright then... I'LL GIVE YOU A FIGHT!" The priest's voice shot out into the sky as he pressed his palms together, small sparks of electricity forming about the air around them.

It was then that the sky boomed, thunder erupting as a bolt of lightning jolted down finding it's target as it mercilessly electrocuted the girl, smoke pluming out from the ground where Emilia tried to lift herself before once more getting struck, bolt after bolt raining down on her now immobile form.

Olba chuckled, proud with himself that he could accomplish such a task with only a few hits.

"Heh, now then, time to go help that useless fallen angel..."

Olba chuckled once more as he picked up the sword from Emilia's lifeless grip.

* * *

Lucifer's ribcage made a large, gut-wrenching sound as it cracked, a broken chip of bone nearly piercing his left lung. The fallen angel responded by clasping both hands over the demon king's horns, making sure to keep a tighter grip on the broken one, and with one swift motion, slamming the Devil's head into his raised knee, before kicking him away.

Both hunched over, their hands pressed against their knees while breathing heavily.

In any other situation, the fallen angel knew one of them would have died instantly, the Devil more than likely the victor; but with all the magic it had took to heal his previous injuries as well as transform into his true form, the demon king was now on par with the traitorous angel, each landing a particularly painful blow on each other every chance they got.

"**So... tell me, Lucifer... since we were such good friends... why did you betray me?" **Satan asked panting, his eyes focussed intensely on his former friend-now-traitor.

"You were... losing the war..." He began. "I wasn't about to become some human's prisoner... so I faked my death while fighting... Emilia..."

The demon king growled with rage at the response, slowly lifting himself up as he began to walk to the still-hunched over Lucifer.

"**So you betrayed not only me, but your fellow demons as well? Those guys trusted you, followed you. And you repay that loyalty by throwing your's out the window right when you get your ass handed to you by a worthy opponent?"**

Satan grabbed the fallen angel by the collar, bring his face closer to his own.

"**What's happened to you? The Lucifer I knew would never act like such a baby, with such cowardice..."**

"COWARDICE!?" Lucifer spat out, his voice reaching above the clouds.

"Listen to yourself!" He yelled, smacking the Devil's claws from his collar

"Ever since you became demon king you've acted all high an bloody mighty! Cowardice, worthy opponent!? What's gotten into you, the Satan I knew would never talk to a friend like a common foot soldier, he treated those he knew with respect, including his enemies!"

The demon king took a few steps back, his eyes hidden behind his hair.

"**Really? I remember just trash talking them the entire time..." **He said with a fake smile, though quickly dissipating back to it's idle shape.

"**Buts that's what we are now, isn't it? Enemies? We were both on the same side once, demons fighting to be free of angels, angels fighting to keep the demons from freedom. That ancient war we sought to end only seems to have gotten worse, taking friends and allies and throwing them on opposite sides of that ageless line between Heaven and Hell."**

"My my, is the Devil getting all _philosophical_ on his enemy?" Olba asked, slowly lowering himself to the ground, holy sword in hand.

Lucifer sighed at the arrival of the old priest. "Speaking of high an mighty... Is it done?"

"Yes, yes it is..." Olba answered as he landed, slowly walking to the fallen angel, all the while staring at the demon king who payed him little to no attention, until he saw the sword.

"...She's dead."

Satan's eyes widened.

"Wow! I'll be honest old man, I was planning on just bringing back whatever was left of you to the council and say that your last wish was for me to go to heaven but JEEZ! You actually did something for once! Congrats, you've impressed me..."

"Don't patronize me, damn you! You haven't even killed _him_ ye-"

"_**What did you do...?"**_

The dark voice pierced at Olba's soul, his heart beginning to feel cold.

"W-What?" The old man asked shakily.

The Devil's clawed hand slowly slipped from behind, grabbing the priest by the throat.

"**What did you do... to Emilia...? Why do you have her sword?"** The demon asked shakily, the black smoke that enveloped his form quickly shifting into flames, dancing and flickering, growing stronger with each word.

The sky seemed to redden as the old man answered.

"I-I... killed her."

Lucifer's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.

"OLBA, MOVE!"

Using his magic, the fallen angel pulled the old priest away, just in time to avoid the red bolt of lightning that struck the ground soon after.

The ground below them vibrated, cracks splitting the pavement in every direction, a deep red glow emitting within them as fire bursted to the surface, their flames all seeming to flicker to the same direction: the Devil.

They had no time to lose.

"HAND ME THAT SWORD, NOW!" Lucifer shouted, extending his palm towards the priest.

Olba didn't move, he was too fear-struck to do so, endlessly staring at the creature before him, it's rage aimed at the old priest.

"Damn it!" Lucifer cursed as he bolted forward, stealing the sword from the stunned priest's hands.

"Come on come on come on..." He willed, hoping after all these years he still had enough holy light in his now demonic body to be capable of wielding the sword.

He did.

Immediately the sword exploded in bursts of light, evolving and changing shape, eventually coming to it's final form.

Flames continued to explode around the demon king, his rage fueling the fire as they danced to the surface, seeming to originate from Hell itself. The whites of his eyes were no longer visible, instead their entirety glowing a literally demonic red.

"_He's abandoning his restrictions..."_ For the first time in years, Lucifer felt fear.

The sword trembled in his grip. This was not the same demon he had met all those centuries ago. Indeed, Lucifer was right to say that his old friend had changed since he had risen to power as the demon king, the fallen angel doubted he could even call the man a demon anymore.

Now he was a Devil.

And the fallen angel knew there would be no hope of killing him if he released even 2 of his 8 restrictions. Luckily for him, he had witnessed those restrictions first hand, and new that it took quite some time to release even a single one, and also that even in the deepest rage, _he would save the 8th for the Divine._

By the fallen angel's guess, he hadn't yet even relinquished the first gate.

Wasting no time, Lucifer charged forward blade raised, aimed for the demon king's neck.

A large explosion could be city-wide as Satan's decapitated head fell to the floor.

* * *

"_Wake up."_

"W-Wha...?"

"_I said wake up."_

"F-Five more minutes Papa, please..."

"_I'm not your Papa, Emilia. Now..."_

Emilia's eyes opened slowly, the whiteness temporarily blinding her.

"Wake up."

The light faded quickly, almost as to the voice's command, revealing it's owner.

A green cloaked, blonde haired, reptilian demon.

"ALCIEL!?"

"It's impolite to yell." The demon general responded, his thick reptilian tail wrapped around his waist.

"Since when can you revert to your true form!?" Emilia asked shouting, her finger extended at the demon's forked tail.

Alciel sighed, folding his arms. "It's also impolite to point... and in either case, milord may be the only one able to absorb and convert sin, but explosions tend to create quite a bit of fright... even in a library..." The last part of the sentence he finished with a sigh.

"And besides... you're one to talk..." The demon stated, gesturing to the girl's drastically changed appearance. "So that's your nephilim state..."

Emilia detected a hint of awe in his tone.

"Yeah well, desperate times call for desperate measures and all..." she said as she lifted herself up, dusting the dirt off of her shirt.

"Wait a second... WHERE WERE YOU THIS WHOLE TIME!?"

Alciel sighed.

"As I've already said, I was at the library... don't you listen at all?"

It was the nephilim's turn to sigh.

"I don't even care anymore..."

Emilia reached blindly for her blade, her hand patting about the cement when it had found nothing to grab.

"W-Wha..." Her eyes grew wide, heart beating with increasing pace.

"What is it?" Alciel asked, his eyes narrowing.

Emilia gritted her teeth.

"Damn that high priest! First he abandons me, then he trys to kill me, and now he's stollen my sword!? ...But if he has my sword, then..." She gasped. "Oh no... MAOU!"

Alciel's brow arched.

"You show concern... for milord?"

"Well duh, don't yo-" Emilia's face quickly reddened before looking away, her arms folding. **(A/N: It's basically the tsundere club handshake.)**

"I-I just want to be the one that puts an end to him... Besides, aren't you concerned?"

Alciel sighed.

"Truthfully... I'm always concerned..."

Alciel looked up to the sky, the smoke from the fires blocking his view of the clouds.

"But in all the centuries I've served him, no matter what amount of trouble he's gotten into, however large, my lord as persevered."

The demon general looked back to Emilia, determination flaming within his amber eyes.

"Holy sword or no, he will survive this day."

Both turned as a large shockwave of dust and rubble blasted towards them, a particularly large boulder aiming directly at them.

"Though that's not to say he can't use a little help now and then... MOVE!"

The two quickly jumped out of the way, narrowly dodging the oncoming boulder as it zoomed past, crashing into the building behind them.

* * *

"Quick, hand me that holy water flask." Lucifer said, hand outstretched to the priest.

"W-Why?" He asked tentatively, still clearly shooken by the earlier events.

The fallen angel sighed.

"You honestly think something as minimal as decapitation with a holy sword will keep that monster down? I barely had enough holy light left in me to fuel that thing to it's final form, not nearly enough to power it up. Only an archangel would be capable of such a thing, frankly it's a wonder that half-breed could even wield the thing..."

Lucifer shook his head.

"No, to kill this guy we're gonna have to purify his body to the point where he might as well be _human_, and seeing as how little magic he's probably got left we might just have enough time to do such a thing, but not if you don't hurry up and hand me THAT DAMN FLASK!"

Olba hurriedly complied, handing the large, round glass bottle to the fallen angel, it's contents glowing as it swished about in it's container.

Lucifer hastily uncorked the bottle, pouring the blessed liquid down into the demon king's severed head and neck, a heavy bubbling steam following it's drainage.

The old priest observed the steam with horrid curiosity.

"What's it doing...?" He asked.

"Thats right, you're one of those high priests... you've never seen this before have you? You and your 'brothers and sisters' would rather send out some fresh recruit to do your dirty work for you..."

Lucifer turned back to Olba after re corking the bottle, handing it to the curious priest who snapped it back onto the belt beneath his purple robes.

"Well since you're so unexperienced let me educate you... This is what happens when you murder a demon."

"Murder?" The priest asked quizzically "Don't you mean kill?"

"No" The fallen angel said, a small hint of anger in his tone, though undetected by the priest. "I mean murder. Not all demon's are like what you and your brethren teach each other. There are some who are innocent, women, children, men who've done nothing wrong except being born to the 'unholy race.' Yet there are plenty of you priests, exorcists, who would not care either way. You would kill them just for the presence of a tail or pair of horns..."

Lucifer gestured to the steaming corpse who's skin began to float away into flakes, darkness within it like a hollow shell.

"This is what happens to them... they'll pour some blessed water down into whatever wound they've delt them, then it happens..."

A large portion of Maou's back broke off, floating away revealing a blackened spine and ribcage, the rest of the insides hollow, nonexistent.

"Their skin tears away in flakes, thin as paper, just floats into the breeze like a feather. Their insides become empty. Any meat, flesh, blood, organs you name it; all of it just disappears, leaving a hollow shell and a skeleton."

"W-Why is his black?" The priest asked shakily, reaching again for the holy water flask beneath his robes.

"Cant say." Lucifer replied matter-of-factly, staring intensely at the skeleton.

"Why you..."

"_I don't know._ Not that I would tell you if I did..."

The fallen angel knelt by the skeleton, now fully revealed as the last of Maou's skin chipped away, floating off into the breeze.

"He's been strange for as long as I've known him, which is a long time. But ever since he became demon king... I don't know he just _changed_. He started looking and acting less and less like a demon and more like... a force of nature, or some kind of monster... _WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" _Lucifer screamed, smacking the flask out of the old priests hands as he prepared to pour it onto the skeleton.

Olba rubbed his hand sorely.

"Purifying the skeleton! You said it yourself that thing's a monster! Who knows he's completely dead yet! We have to be sure or else I'll be the laughing stock of the council!"

"NO! I swear to you priest, if you so much as touch those bones I'll make sure your through! Hell won't even want you by the time I'd be done with you!"

"_Oh, is the traitor now showing an ounce of LOYALTY?"_

Both turned to see a floating Alciel, his arms folded as he slowly lowered himself to the ground, tail swinging slowly like that of a predator's, his reptilian eyes fixated on the pair of traitors.

Lucifer grinned sadistically.

"Alciel..."

"His majesty-"

"Always assumed I survived. I know." The fallen angel replied as he lifted himself up, dusting off the dirt on his black leather jeans.

"You know, you can stop talking to me like some subordinate, I'm your equal, I too was a demon general, lest you forget."

Alciel scowled.

"You _dare_ claim to retain that position after you betrayed our lord? And what of that blackened skeleton...?"

The demon general gazed down to the remains, a deep rage filling his being as he noticed the shape of the shins and the two horns protruding from the severed skull.

"You dare to desecrate his majesty's body..."

Alciel's body began to glow a dark green, his scaly skin raising and sharpening slightly into points in certain areas while his forked tail began to grow barbs.

"You... must... _pay..._"

Lucifer only smiled, readying his fists as he outstretched his black wings.

"Then by all means, let me make a deposit..."

Alciel responded not with words, instead sticking out his palms as his glowing green aura flowed to his forearms, the scales upon them beginning to glow red from within the crevices that now separated them.

The fallen angel scoffed.

"_Dragon claws_, huh? Been a while since I've seen those, lizard! Pick up some new tricks why don't ya!?"

Lucifer outstretched his wings, their black feathers beginning to blow fiercely in the warm wind that now surrounded them.

Olba could hear popping noises as the buttons, straps and buckles on the fallen angel's shoes began to unfasten, revealing a pair of bare feet with blackening toe nails.

The priest gagged a bit until he noticed them, along with his fingernails, beginning to elongate and sharpen, black feathers exploding from the bare skin about his hands and feet.

Alciel snickered.

"And you accuse me of using the same old tricks? Unless I'm mistaken those are the same exact _Hawk Talons_ that you used centuries ago..."

"Don't fix whats not broken. Unlike your little lizard scratchers, my claws are that of a registered predator, these babies have yet to fail me in a fight."

Alciel readied his fists, green ethereal scaly claws encompassing them with a loud roar.

"I've heard few actually mindful phrases from these humans." The demon general said, his green aura growing brighter. "One of them comes to mind at moments like these..."

Within an instant Alciel teleported, reappearing behind the fallen angel. Sending a quick slash of his claws down the former general's back, the ethereal weapon tore through the thick leather with a singeing sound, fire filling the fresh new wound earning the reptilian demon a howl of pain from an injured Lucifer.

"Theres a first time... for everything." **(A/N: That's right, I made Alciel a badass. DEAL WITH IT.)**

Olba quietly backed away, taking cover behind a nearby protruding piece of rubble to observe the fight between generals, while maintaining a safe distance.

Though he couldn't take his eyes off the black skeleton.

For whatever reason, it seemed even darker than before, and the skull almost felt like it was closer to the neck.

* * *

"_**Where am I?" **_The darkness called out, it's black misty form shifting about the large cavern with a deep curiosity.

A large gust of wind shot through, it's unusually warm breeze calling out to the darkness, almost as if in communication.

"**Home?" **It asked, questioning the wind's answer.

Again the wind blew, howling through the cavern's cracks and crevices, specifying around the gigantic gate that stood in the center of the large cavern.

"**No.**" The darkness answered, it's tone as black as it's misty form.

"**The time for **_**that**_** has not yet come, though I sense it yet approaches..."**

The black mist grew larger.

"**Why am I here? I have not returned by my will, something is wrong..."**

The wind did not reply, instead the mist's answer was shot throughout the cavern, the fallen angel's voice echoing into the darkness's mind.

"_NO! I swear to you priest, if you so much as touch those bones I'll make sure your through! Hell won't even want you by the time I'd be done with you!"_

The darkness chuckled.

"**So, it seems he **_**does**_** have some loyalty left in him. Congratulations, Lucifer. You may yet live to see another day..."**

The wind once more howled throughout the cavern, it's warm breeze reflecting off of the blast mist as it began to transform.

"**So they've gone an 'purified' my body, eh?"**

Once more the darkness chuckled, it's black mist beginning to expand and contrast, pulling and pushing as it began to take shape.

"**Morons. They've just prolonged things. Well, since my actual body is incapacitated at the moment, I see nothing wrong with temporarily assuming a more **_**familiar**_** avatar..."**

The wind continued to howl as the mist took form, looking less and less like a mass of darkness and more like a shadow, small details beginning to reveal themselves.

Small, crooked and contorted bronze horns slowly protruded from the blackness that had now shifted into a mass of messy teal hair, beneath them a pair of large, warm orange eyes with slitted pupils, in between holding a curved nose that beneath it held a mischievous smile.

The torso formed much quicker, creating a long, black tattered scarf that sat just below the neck, below it an equally tattered pale brown short shoulder length cape that slightly hid a black leather strap fastened across the chest, a simple iron buckle holding it in place. Underneath the layers of scarf, cape and belt hid a dull grey shirt, clearly too large for the small figure it now encompassed, the sleeves being rolled up above thin, spindly arms, the bottom of the shirt tucked underneath a dark red cloth belt, a large shapely buckle keeping the strap that held the boy's black tattered shorts in place.

On the boy's left arm the blackness slowly shifted into a furry grey bracer, fastened over his forearm by a multitude of maple-colored straps and a protective silver plate covering the outside.

His legs and feet were left bare, revealing a pair of furry grey inverted shins and black shiny hooves.

The wind seemed to howl in amusement at the appearance of a young Satan Jacob, not yet within his second decade.

The young demon chuckled back, temporarily surprising himself with the pitch of his voice.

"I know, I know, but it's only temporary, and besides after 300 years is it so wrong that I feel like going back to the classics?"

Satan looked around, his face getting red for a moment before he smacked his palm to his forehead in embarrassment.

The wind howled questioningly.

"Well, it's um... been a while and I... Um..."

The young demon's gaze dropped to his hooves.

"I kinda... forgot where the exit is..."

The wind howled in compliance, blowing open the pair of black doors situated directly behind the oblivious prince of darkness.

"A-Ah, right..."

Wishing to avoid further embarrassment, Satan merely turned around and quietly went through, the large doors slamming behind him.

* * *

Lucifer laughed as he dodged Alciel's ethereal slash, his dragon claws sinking deep into a wooden post setting it ablaze.

Not wasting any time the fallen angel countered, his blackened hawk talons tearing shallowly into the demon general's scaly hide, while at the same time creating rather large tears into his favorite cloak.

The reptilian demon roared with a rather exaggerated rage, quickly spinning while pulling the flaming post with him, hitting the traitor with a blunt strike that sent him skyward, reminding the fallen angel of his former comrade's considerable strength.

Unfortunately, he had also forgotten about his speed.

Before Lucifer could react, Alciel teleported in front of him, his wrists pressing together as a large reptilian eye formed behind him, sending an unexpected green shockwave at the traitor, his form shooting away, narrowly avoiding the explosion while also leaving behind a trail of black feathers.

Alciel's eyes widened as they exploded, unable to avoid them as one by one they sent him shooting about the sky like a pinball, eventually sending him crashing into the ruptured pavement below.

Lucifer landed quietly, carelessly striding over to the incapacitated demon general.

"You know, I have to you credit" The fallen angel said, leaning over Alciel's seemingly unconscious form. "I always considered you the type to tell others to fight while keeping your cloak clea-"

Lucifer was interrupted as Alciel instantly recovered, swiping his legs beneath that of the fallen angels and sending him down onto the pavement on which he had originally stood, the reptilian demon general now pressing his renewed ethereal claws to the traitor's throat.

"So what, you thought I couldn't fight? Do you really think he would've made me a general if such a thing were true?"

Lucifer, still pinned down, shrugged.

"I guess your right there, he always was the type to never leave someone in charge of something they couldn't do themselves...honestly it might of been one of my favorites among his qualities."

Alciel's claws pressed down harder, further restricting the fallen angel.

"Then why did you betray him, why fake your death?"

The traitor sighed.

"He asked me the same thing... I guess it was because he was losing. I wasn't about to be prodded into some cage by a human."

Lucifer, struggling against Alciel's ethereal claws lifted himself slightly to look the demon general dead in the eyes.

"But it was mostly because of what he was becoming."

Alciel's eyes widened, a surprised expression on his usually stern face.

"You know it as much as I do Alciel, ever since he became demon king... and especially what happened before that... he's changed. He started acting less and less like himself... he was becoming a monster."

The demon general's grip loosened slightly, giving Lucifer a bit more leverage.

"The friend I knew was nearly gone by the time I left. I wasn't about to serve someone who pillaged and slaughtered without reason or remorse."

For a split second, Alciel's grip relinquished completely, and in that instant Lucifer took his chance.

Placing both of his still-transformed feet onto the demon general's chest, Lucifer kicked off, sending the reptilian demon flying several feet away, the fallen angel taking his advantage to conjure a multitude of ethereal purple bullets, all aimed at his distracted former comrade.

"Damnit!" Alciel yelled, angered with his own gullibility as he summoned a magic shield, barely doing so in time to repel the masses of energy that now hailed at his form.

The demon general looked out of the corner of his eye at the blackened skeleton, his rage reaching ironically bibical proportions.

"_Hurry it up, Hero!"_

* * *

"That makes 23"

Emilia sighed as she healed the last of the unconscious civilians, excluding the young Chiho to spare her of an even more frightening sight. The civilian's injuries, though oddly minor were still present, keeping them all in a temporary sleep, something she could unfortunately not allow.

"Damn it all, why am I going along with this...?"

_~Flashback~_

"_You want me to do what!?" _

"I _said_ I want you to reawaken all of these humans, if the traitors do have your sword it's likely we'll need them."

The nephilims eye's narrowed.

"Need them how?" She asked suspiciously.

Alciel sighed. "I had thought my lord's nemesis to be atleast clever enough to-"

"I may not have my sword but don't think for a second you can get off with finishing that sentence without a multitude of painful bruises."

The demon general gulped, remembering that he was in the presence of the same woman who had slaughtered his fellow generals and their armies.

"R-Right, anyways... seeing as how they have a holy sword... while I believe in his majesty to the fullest extent, the truth remains that he has not yet replenished even a quarter of his magic supply, and if what you say is true he has been fighting for some time..."

Emilia's eyes widened.

"Y-You think he's dead...?" She asked, a mix of hope and despair in her tone.

Alciel's expression became stern.

"My lord cannot die, especially to the likes of such weaklings. At most they will partially destroy his body. He will regenerate, though this may cost several hours atleast, depending of course on the amount of damage he has sustained."

Emilia nodded, beginning to understand, although a little disturbed by what she had just heard.

"So... I'm guessing fear and despair can... speed up that process...?"

The demon general nodded. "We'll need a good amount of it, though. No matter how terrifying the sight the despair of 4 or 5 humans will not be enough."

"So, what's the plan?"

"While I do not... underestimate your... skill... with your fists, with your sacred sword taken from you the best tactical decision would be for me to draw the traitor's attention, while you bring back every human you can."

_~End of flashback~_

Emilia sighed once more.

"Since when did I start helping the guy's I'm supposed to kill...?"

"W-Wha...?"

The Hero jumped as the humans began to awaken, quickly dispelling her nephilim state, realizing just how long she had been using it.

"_That's weird... I don't think I've ever been in it for that long before, I didn't even notice it... it almost felt... natural..."_

"M-Miss... where are we? ...What happened?"

Emilia snapped back to reality, turning to face a crowd of confused civilians all with their eyes on her.

"_SHIT! Come on... come on... think of something..."_

"I'm a... a... MEDIC! That's right! I'm a medic, now please follow me so we can get to the... Medic...mobile?" Emi cursed to herself in Enten Islan, completely forgetting what the japanese called the car that medics used to take people to the hospital.

"Oh... ok?" The crowd replied, Emi inwardly cheering.

"This way!" She yelled, index finger extended forward like that of a tour guide, guiltily leading the confused crowd towards the battlegrounds.

It had been a few minutes before the group arrived, coming upon the both amazing and terrifying sight of two of the great demon generals in combat, though to the humans it was simply a battle between monsters.

Above, black feathered wings flapping in the sky, was Lucifer, his hands and feet transformed, black feathers spreading about bare skin with long black curved nails.

The fallen angel grinned evilly at the creature below, which to the humans seemed to be some kind of blonde lizard man with a green cloak, his palms extending out with an ethereal green shield, blocking what seemed to be a multitude of purple streaks of energy.

Alciel turned to face the crowd of civilians, a small hopeful smile finding it's way onto his face.

Within than instant of hopefulness, the shield broke, a lone purple magical bullet piercing it's way through Alciel's scaly hide.

The crowd screamed.

Lucifer turned to see the source of the commotion, his face going pale when he noticed the group of humans.

Olba, safely watching from behind a nearby protruding piece of rubble shivered, the sounds of footsteps approaching from behind making what little hair he had left stand on end.

The old priest's gaze fell down to the sword at his side, slowly reaching for it with a trembling hand before it began to drag away, sparks flying as it was pulled along the concrete before being raised up high, it's tip pressing against the back of his head.

Olba trembled as he felt the holy metal press against his flesh, a small trickle of blood running down the back of his neck.

"Now then..." Emilia said, her voice frighteningly calm. "Let me show you why it's not a good idea to take a woman's things..."

That did it.

The air ran cold, the combined despair of the crowd of humans, the fallen angel, and that of the priest made the sky seem darker, the area falling silent save for a lone breeze that swept through.

All eyes fell upon the black skeleton as it spoke.

* * *

The doors made a loud banging sound as they closed, though earning to attention from the sprinting prince of darkness.

He was now on all fours, taking advantage of the unusual shape of his legs as he rapidly lunged forward, his bat-like wings aiding in his speed, approaching faster and faster towards the exit of the caverns before with one final lunge bursting through into freedom.

Suddenly, the young demon came to a screeching halt, dust flying through the air while his hooves slid though the dry soil, his expression one of complete shock and awe at the sight he now saw.

There, several kilometers away, reaching high above the huge rocks and large mountains, was a tall, dark castle.

Satan's wings extended, subconsciously yearning to fly to their owner's home.

The demon stretched out his hand to the sight, it's claws growing slightly larger as it did so.

"_My... castle..." _He thought, his face suddenly displaying a dark expression to match what his soul had now desired. "_If I go there... I can start over... be myself again..."_

For a brief moment, his form flickered, temporarily revealing his true form, clad in his demon king attire.

"_If I go there... __**I can begin again."**_

At that moment, Satan forgot it all. Earth, Alciel, Lucifer, Emilia... they were all irrelevant. They were stuck there, the Hero no longer able to interrupt his plans. He had no army, but in truth he never needed one. Ente Isla was now weak. They had no Hero, their armies had let their guard down, and guessing from the sudden appearance of the high priest, the church was struggling to maintain power. He could return to Ente Isla and continue his plans.

And that's just what he intended to do.

Once more the demon king began his sprint, preparing to get a running start before launching off to fly to his castle to begin his campaign a new.

Already he was increasing pace, 15 miles per hour, 40, 80, 100. His raw magic fueled his ambition, small goat-like legs barely able to keep up with themselves.

200 miles per hour, he was ready to take off. Stretching out his wings, he readied himself, already they began to flap, the dust beneath them rippling before dissipating into the air.

Just as he was about to push off, the demon heard it.

A soft, sweet giggle. One that was all too familiar to him.

Satan instantly stopped running, his face turning pale with his eyes widening.

Slowly, he turned around, trembling at what he saw.

There, directly in front of him about 6 meters away, was a girl, her long pale purple hair and white silk dress flowing in the wind while she stared at him with kind, beautiful red and blue eyes.

"_No..."_ The young demon felt his knees go weak, eventually collapsing upon them, unable to keep at bay the tears that now burned down his cheeks.

"_Where are you going?"_ She asked in a voice that made his heart ache. It was kind, sweet, but also held a certain power, one that was only magnified over the young demon.

Slowly an ethereal image appeared, depicting the battle he had just previously fought in revealing Alciel and Emilia barely holding there own against the priest and fallen angel.

"_They need you"_ She said with a kind smile that made his soul ache even more than his heart.

Satan could not speak, only able to choke out a sob as he stared at her. That smile that he had missed for all those centuries was now displayed before him, but all he could do is cry.

Her face, her smile, those beautiful eyes, they were all there, as perfect as they were those 300 years ago, but deep down all the dark prince felt was pain, for no matter how realistic the sight, he could not believe it. He was there when all that was taken away from him.

Slowly the girl began to fade, her image becoming hazier and hazier despite Satan's protests.

"Wait! Wait! Don't go! Please! LILI-" He was about to call out her name, but she had already gone, the place where she once stood as empty now as his heart.

"_That's right..."_ He sighed mentally. "_My heart's empty... if it even exists anymore."_

It was then he began to wonder. Did he even have a heart anymore? How long had he been like this, how long had it been since he became so _dark?_ Could it be that Lucifer was right? Was he even a demon anymore? He was now able to do things that no other could, even he did not know the limits of his power. Was he even a person anymore? As the centuries went on he felt like something else, something greater, but less individual.

Was this the definition of the Devil?

Was he even himself anymore?

Ever since he had lost that smile, the sight of those beautiful red and blue eyes, that soft pale purple hair, the feeling of her embrace... he didn't feel it. He was already marked for darkness by the time he had met her but... maybe it was her that kept it at bay, perhaps it was her light that took the place of his own, but now that that very light was gone, had that darkness now taken him? _Or had he become it?_

It was then the demon king felt it. The fear and despair that now surrounded his physical body, the blackness that empowered him.

"_They need you..."_ The painfully sweet voice repeated in his thoughts. He knew he could never disobey the sound of that voice.

"Forgive me..." He whispered, his voice trembling as he rose to his feet. "...We'll see each other again... one day..."

"_I hope"_

Satan's eyes bled as he began to emit his iconic dark aura, his voice changing as he chanted.

"**It was in the eve of my life, not yet within my second decade that I met fate, which to me took the form of a bottomless pit in a place surrounded by blackness..."**

* * *

All eyes turned to the black skeleton as it spoke, it's skull pulling back onto it's neck with a sickening crunch as it rose.

"**And I stared into the abyss, it's coldness seeping into my soul as it looked back into me, only to see it's own reflection..."**

Emilia spun around as one by one, the civilians started to combust into pure-red flames, screaming in agony as they began to emit a thick black smoke that pulled towards the skeleton with each word.

"**...And it was because of that I knew I had become darkness. I would never feel warmth again, as I was now the shadow that the sun would cast upon me..."**

Lucifer trembled as two flaming red orbs appeared in the skull's eye sockets, staring directly into his very soul. The fallen angel watched as muscle fibers stretched over the bones, soon thickening into skin, dark teal hair falling over the intense red eyes, though their darkness unwavering.

"**...For I have become evil incarnate."**

In an explosion of black smoke the Devil fully regenerated, his piercing red eyes still aimed at the fallen angel with an expression of dark seriousness, before spreading a crazed smile across his lips.

The air ran cold as the demon king burst into laughter.

"_**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA HHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"**_

Emilia watched as Satan pressed his palm to his forehead for support, still laughing hysterically.

"_That laugh... he's faking it..."_ No other knew better how to recognize disguised pain than her.

The Hero thought back to what the demon king had said earlier that day after she tried to kill him.

"_**I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR TAKING HER AWAY FROM ME!"**_

Emilia's eyes narrowed.

Who was she? Who was it that the Devil had lost?

"_**Thats**_** what you were talking about eh, Lucifer!? BAHAHAHAHA I'm pretty sure I just ripped that out of some old book I found HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

**(A/N: No, you didn't. I wrote that, you're welcome.)**

Said fallen angel watched as the demon king calmed down, his tone slightly surprising him.

"**But that's what you were talking about, right!? Yeah, I guess I have been acting a little too serious. So! From now on, I'm going to start acting like myself..."**

Emilia and Alciel's heads lifted as they looked up to the sky, it's once blue color now reddening at an alarming rate.

"**But for me to really have my fun I can't be held back now can I? I'd rather avoid having that fat guardian lash out at me, so why don't we all go someplace a little more... resilient..."**

With a snap of his fingers the sky instantly turned yellow, rubble and pieces of the ground shooting up into the sky where they stayed levitating, the sun darkening and eventually turning completely blue.

"**Ladies, gentleman..."**

One by one trees began to break through the surface, eventually forming a small forrest of trees with no leaves.

"**...Demons, angels, and those of **_**unspecified**_** race..."** The Devil pulled a quick glance at a once again transformed Emilia, her red eyes staring back, a hint of fluster within them. "**As the Devil, allow me to formally welcome you to Limbo!"**

"**Now then... Alciel!"**

Said demon general instantly saluted, glad at the return of his king.

"What is it you require, my lord?"

"**Well you'll notice my manner of dress... actually it's probably best if you don't. That goes for you too, Emilia."**

The nephilim had already long since covered her eyes.

"**...Anyways, seeing as how you brought your general's mantle, I was just wondering..."**

"Say no more, _your highness._" Alciel replied as he brought out the carefully folded apparel from within his cloak.

Within an instant the clothing disappeared from his reptilian palms, Alciel bowing afterwards.

"Welcome back, your majesty."

"_**I never left."**_

Emilia shuddered as she felt the air chill around her, her grip shaking as she heard the clomping of hooves emit from behind her, followed by the recognizable sound of clanking metal.

"**Now then, it's been a while **_**Hero**_**, so tell me... does this look right?"**

Slowly she turned, a spark of both familiarity and anger playing through her mind at the sight. Before her he stood, clad in a noble-looking dull purple attire, his black collared mantle draping diagonally down his elbows as he fixed the sleeves of his two-piece shirt, then lowering to rearrange the metal plates strapped to his goat-like shins, 3 pronged bronze pauldrons sitting across his broad shoulders.

"**So, what do you think?"** He asked, a hint of challenge in his voice. "**Still fit? I haven't gotten **_**fat**_** have I...?"**

Before her stood the Devil she knew, the Devil she hated, clad in his demon king attire.

"**...I dunno it feels like it's missing something, don't you agree?"**

Emilia didn't answer, the rage boiling deep within her, her grip on her scared sword tightening.

"**Oh! I know!"**

The demon king reached up at his shattered horn, dragging his hand across it emitting pure red flames. Immediately the horn began to regenerate, stretching and bending until the point it completely resembled the form it had retained before the Hero had severed it.

"**That's better, much more balanced."**

"_Go."_ The Hero managed to grunt through her gritting teeth. "Before I slice it off again."

The demon king replied with a flamboyant bow before disappearing.

"_**I'll leave the priest for you."**_

* * *

Lucifer stared down at the oblivious demon king with no small amount of terror in his eyes.

He had originally spared the bones as a means of respect, he wanted to bury his old comrade and remember him as the friend he once knew, never for a moment did he consider that he would regenerate from them. "_What kind of monster is he becoming!?"_"

"**I wish I could tell you, I honestly do."**

Lucifer's face went pale.

Immediately his gaze shot down to where he had last seen the demon king speaking with the Hero, only to see that they both were no longer there.

Mustering up all his courage, the fallen angel turned around, coming face to face with the Devil.

"**What is it these humans say?" **He asked rubbing his chin, looking upward like a child trying to remember the answer to a test. "**Speak of the Devil and he shall appear?"** Satan looked back down to Lucifer, his red eyes slightly glowing. "**Guess that applies to thoughts, too."**

"H-How?" The fallen angel managed to stutter, the fear evident in his tone. "How are you still alive!?"

The demon king's eyes flashed a bright red before narrowing, his expression suddenly cold and cruel, though carrying a well-hidden sadness. "**You know I can't die."**

Satan said as he curled his claws into fists, blood running from in between his fingers.

"**I won't die while they still live."** He stated coldly.

"S-Shut up!" Lucifer lashed out, throwing his feathered fists endlessly into Satan's stomach, the demon king not reacting in the slightest, his body standing completely still while the fallen angel continued to punch harder and harder into his midsection, eventually breaking through, disappearing into his abdomen before exploding from behind his back, the dark crimson liquid painting a nearly broken fist.

The fallen angel looked down at the hole he had created with shock, quickly pulling free his forearm and hand from Satan's stomach. Nearly gagging at the sickening injury, though this changed once he saw the wound already beginning to close, string-like fibers of flesh knitting together along with bone and skin all the while emitting a thin black steam.

"**Awe, come on... you'll ruin my clothes, I just got these back you know!"**

Faster than the eye can see the Devil's fist shot into Lucifer's stomach, sucker punching him causing the fallen angel to shoot back, crashing through several of the leafless trees before recovering.

Within an instant Satan was on top of him, mercilessly punching Lucifer's face with clawed fists as he spoke.

"**I! Don't! Have! Any! Spares!" **The demon king finished with a quick roundhouse kick, blasting the fallen angel through a multitude of trees before colliding into the brick wall of a collapsed building, shattered glass from surviving windows above crashing upon him, thin lines of blood appearing about his ghostly pale face.

"**Wow, I've gotten pretty slow, haven't I? Well then, all the more reason to keep this going..."**

Once more Satan appeared from nothingness before him, lifting Lucifer by the collar while bring the traitor's face closer to his own.

"**I think it might be that we're on the ground, don't you agree?"** The Devil pulled back his fist, readying it with a mischievous grin as he extended his bat-like wings from behind his black cloak.

"**We've both got wings, so why don't we take this massacre airborne!?"**

With that said the demon king shot his fist up the traitor's jaw, sending him into the sky before with a flap of his wings propelling himself after him.

"_I've got to fight back! I've got to- UMPH!"_ Lucifer's thoughts were interrupted as Satan shot yet another punch into his jaw, sending him even higher into the yellow sky, shooting through three of the large floating pieces of rubble before landing heavily onto another, his body aching with various sores and bruises, his mouth gasping for air as he wheezed through cracked ribs and nearly ruptured lungs.

The fallen angel's vision was quickly fading by the time the Devil landed before him, a cruel smile displayed across his lips.

"**Sorry for magnitude of this beating, but you see, I had a bad dream while you guys were arguing amongst my bones, and right now I really feel like beating the living shit out of an angel. Honestly the only reason I haven't torn off your limbs and fed them to Cerberus is cause those wings of yours are still back..."**

Satan pondered for a moment before bursting into a short-tempered rage.

"**Wait a minute why am I apologizing YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!" **

The Devil yelled as he kicked the fallen angel hard in the gut, sending him sliding to the edge of the rock and almost causing him to fall off before catching the edge with his free hand with the other held over his painful wounds.

The demon king walked slowly over to Lucifer, his shiny black hooves making clomping sounds as the ground cracked beneath them with every step.

"**You know... It's seems we've both fallen from grace, haven't we?"**

The fallen angel winced as Satan pressed his hoove over his hand, a sharp pain shooting through his wrist as he began to twist it, earning the demon king a loud agonizing scream.

"**And no, that wasn't a pun."**

* * *

Olba ran through the forrest as fast as his old legs could carry him, occasionally stumbling over a raised root or rock only to slowly lift himself back up to continue sprinting, his cowardice overcoming any logic left in his mind.

He had entered this fight so sure of himself, his mind was already racing with the titles and rewards he would earn by the time he had arrived on earth, not for a moment did he consider that he would fail, that even with his body purified and his head decapitated, with his form nothing but a blackened skeleton, not for a moment did he consider that even in a world with no magic that the demon king could possess such strength.

But now that was all irrelevant, now the only thing old priest could think of was to escape, to run away and never stop running until he was free of these monsters, there had to be a way, there had to be an exit out of this strange realm.

"_You dare try to escape my wrath, priest!?"_

Olba nearly screamed as a green ethereal chain wrapped around his ankle, quickly yanking him back while dragging him through dry soil and raised roots, his old back nearly breaking as it ran over ragged rocks.

Eventually he had come to a stop, looking up to see an enraged demon general Alciel looming over him, the one general he and his team were never able to defeat.

Alciel gritted his teeth, his fists tightening while they became enveloped by his dragon claws, their sharpness increasing with every second the demon stared at the pathetic human who dared to desecrate his lord's incapacitated body.

"You... you disgust me... every second I stare at that ugly wrinkled face of yours is another second I want to vomit."

The demon general's amber eyes flared as he raised his ethereal dragon claw over the high priest's neck.

"You dared to try and kill the demon king. you deserve not a trial or the right of last words. I'll make this slow."

Raising his claws higher Alciel gave the priest what was possibly the last thing he would ever hear.

"Die, priest. Hell shall take it upon itself to make your afterlife especially agonizing."

Sparks flew as Alciel's claws sliced downward, his expression of hatred shifting into one of surprise and confusion as they were intercepted by the blade of a scared sword.

"What are you doing, Hero!?"

"Don't touch him..." Emilia responded without turning, her gaze completely focussed on the old priest.

Olba looked up shakily, his entire body trembling as he gazed into the nephilim's blood red eyes, her anger clear within them.

"E-Emilia! I-I knew you wouldn-"

The traitorous priest was silenced as the tip of the Hero's sword pressed at his adam's apple, a small trickle of blood running down his neck.

"He's mine to kill."

Olba gulped halfway, the blade keeping the old priest from further moving his throat.

"NO! He dared to-" The demon general began, before quickly being interrupted by a familiar voice in his thoughts.

"_**Step off, Alciel."**_

"_M-My lord...?"_ he asked curiously from within his mind.

"_**The priest betrayed her, the old man's fate is hers to decide. It would be hypocritical of me to deny her this fight."**_

"_Yes, your majesty."_

Emilia turned as Alciel kneeled with his head bowed before rising up, looking the nephilim dead in the eye as he spoke.

"Forgive me for my interference, I shall not do so again. The priest is yours."

The Hero, though a little surprised at the demon general's respectful apology, merely nodded before turning back to face Olba, his face a mask of terror.

"Get up."

The old priest's eyes widened. "W-What...?"

"I _said_ get up. Unlike you, I still have my honor. I won't kill an man on his knees."

Emilia pulled back her sword as Olba rose, his hands trembling in front of him.

"Now run, fight, hide. It doesn't matter. Either way, I'll make sure you'll see the end coming. You don't deserve a peaceful death."

Olba frowned as he gritted his teeth, his head shaking before lashing out.

"Neither do you, you nephilim scum!" In a surprising display of bravery, the priest yelled out as his hands shot into the air, the sky rumbling as clouds connected, flashes of lightning beginning to form around his palms.

"_Bastard."_ Emilia thought as she threw her sword arm into the air, the blade intercepting and absorbing the mass of electricity that threatened to once more incapacitate her.

"You're senile if you think that will work on me again!" The Hero yelled as she charged, swinging her sword over her head before following through, slicing at the priests chest.

Olba lurched at the pain, feeling the blood beginning to gush down his torso.

Though Emilia wasn't finished.

Once more she brought the sword around, it's once silvery blade now beginning to glow a bright golden aura as it increased in power, allowing it's wielder speed beyond measure as she rapidly began to slash x's into the priest's chest, tearing through his noble purple robes and revealing a pale wrinkly torso now littered in bloodied cuts and deep gashes.

Olba grabbed at his chest in agony before pressing out his palm, a blast of wind shooting him back just in time to evade yet another slash of the Hero's sword while at the same time sending her tumbling through the dirt, eventually rolling into a crouched position before dashing forward with her blade aimed at the priest's open palm.

Seeing it coming, Olba remembered the pistol he had holstered onto his belt, quickly bringing it out before shooting a multitude of badly-aimed shots at the rapidly approaching nephilim.

Emilia instantly recognized the weapon as the priest pulled it out, quickly halting her charge and shifting into a defensive position as she, in a feat of inhuman reflexes, began to rapidly repel the bullets with her sacred sword, screaming out in pain as one found it's way through the slicing barage, painfully grazing the Hero's shoulder before zooming past into a nearby tree.

Olba wasted no time as he continued firing shots, though only few actually coming near the nephilim who had now switched to dodging the iron pellets and was coming closer and closer to him with every lurch of the gun's barrel. The priest jumped frightfully, once more aiming the barrel of the pistol and rapidly pulling the trigger, his face going pale when he heard the clicking noise emerge from it's chamber. Olba cursed mentally while quickly searching his belt for the spare mag he had brought with him in caution, it's usefulness now seemingly less evident as the old traitor found no sight of the thin metal case.

Emilia took this moment to charge up her magic into her holy sword, it's blade beginning to emit glowing gold runes before sending out a series of ethereal slashes, though not fatal the magic slices did the trick as they cut even more into the priest's already heavily wounded chest, causing the old traitor great pain while at the same time pushing him further and further away from the nephilim while she painfully covered her hand over the wound on her scathed shoulder.

Olba grunted as he lifted himself to his feet, his torso bleeding heavily.

His vision began to blur from the blood loss, Emilia's image before him becoming foggier and foggier until the Hero appeared little more than a smear of assorted colors.

Eventually the old man collapsed, no amount of magic could cure the wounds he now was forced to endure. Olba's hand shook as he lifted his palm in front of himself, straining as he focused all the magic he had left into his fingertips to fire one final blast, his last act of betrayal before his now seemingly unavoidable death.

It was then he heard it.

A small clanking noise, the sound of a piece of metal hitting dry soil.

Olba suddenly found his vision coming back to focus, his wounds beginning to feel less painful.

Slowly he reached out from behind him, grabbing the magazine and hastily loading it into the pistol before crudely aiming it at the approaching form of Emilia, her right hand holding the sacred sword better half while her left nurtured her wounded shoulder, her eyes angry as she closed the gap between herself and the priest.

Olba strained, his trigger finger somehow unable to move on demand, as if it was not his own.

The old priest felt his soul go cold as he heard a familiar dark voice in his thoughts.

"_**Oh no priest, I may be staying out of this fight, but I won't let a coward like you hide behind the barrel of a gun..."**_

Olba's eyes widened as he watched the gun go red, it's metal steaming in his unmovable grip, causing the high priest no small amount of pain as the pistol began to melt in his grasp.

Emilia watched the old man's hand nearly catch fire while molten metal streamed from between his wrinkly fingers, his screams of agony reaching high above the leafless trees, reaching the Devil's pointed ears atop the large levitating boulder, a dark smile spreading across his lips as he looked back to Lucifer, the fallen angel struggling to keep purchase on the rocky cliff.

"**Sorry Emilia, but theres no way in heaven I'll have you killed by something so **_**human**_**..."**

Satan turned back to a struggling Lucifer, his mind too focussed on the pain shooting through his right hand to use his wings to his aid to fly up back onto the base of the rubble. Despite his betrayal, it saddened the demon king to see his old friend and comrade in such a disrespectful position.

"_**Ah well, time for the real fun to begin..."**_

Lucifer's eyes widened as he felt the pain quickly leave his nearly broken hand, looking up to see the Devil now lifting his hoove with a large mischievous grin spread about his face.

Lifting himself up with the aid of his black-feathered wings the fallen angel shot his former leader a questioning glance, his mind racing with questions as to why the demon king would relent torturing a traitor.

The Devil's smile only widened as he answered.

"**Because, I'm gonna have quite a bit of fun with this next bit..."**

Within an instant Satan was gone, Lucifer's eyes widening as he felt his airway block, a purple-sleeved forearm reaching across his throat.

The fallen angel attempted to speak, but this only resulted in the demon king tightening his grip, his soul running cold as he heard the dark voice speak into his ear.

"**Congratulations, Lucifer... I think I might let you live."**

"_W-What...?"_ He managed to grunt through the chokehold, his mind once more racing with questions.

"**I heard you, Lucifer. I heard how you kept that geezer away from my bones. Theres still a fragment of you that's my friend, isn't there?"**

Satan pushed the Lucifer's head downward, forcing the fallen angel's gaze upon the once more battling nephilim and high priest, the souls of purgatory visible only to the pair as they watched the holy fight.

"**Look at all them down there. Those souls, that priest, hell, I could kill you, an angel, right here and now before them all, and not even **_**Heaven**_** would care."**

The Devil's grip began to loosen as the fallen angel stood still, a sudden feeling of worthlessness rushing through his system.

"**But we'll change that." **Satan continued, letting go of Lucifer completely, walking around him as he kept talking.

"**You're my friend Lucifer. I won't have you die and have your name forgotten so easily."**

The fallen angel still stood motionless, surprising himself with how much he was beginning to consider what he believed the demon king was now offering.

"**Join me again, Lucifer." **The Devil stated while extending his clawed hand towards the fallen angel, his face a mask of complete seriousness.

"**That priest is a coward, but is not as foolish as you may think. Once all is said and done he'll abandon you here, he'll bring no loose ends to compete with his claims." **Satan's eyes flared, their blood red color glowing like embers.

"**You're right. I have changed since I became the demon king. But I've also changed since my arrival here. I will return to Ente Isla. But this time, it won't be war against the humans, it was never supposed to be."**

The fallen angel stared back into the demon king's red eyes with his own purple ones, a serious look about them.

"**This time we'll do what we always intended..."**

The Devil's dark aura began to surround the pair, quickly shifting from smoke to flames, dancing in circles around the pair as it rose higher and higher, black embers shooting into the fallen angel's wounds, surprising him as they began to heal at what seemed like an impossible rate, all the while restoring his dark magic.

"**This time we'll march right onto Heaven, and we'll remind them all of the great demon general Lucifer, the aerial commander they were foolish enough to forsake."**

A brief moment of silence passed before Lucifer grabbed the Devil's hand, shaking it before kneeling down on one knee, his head bowed.

"Forgive me for my betrayal, _my king._"

Satan smiled, truly glad to once again have his old friend at his side.

"**Forgive me for acting like such a stuck-up asshole, and I'll consider it."** He said chuckling, folding his arms as Lucifer rose, both now staring back at the battle beneath them.

"I kinda wanna watch up close..." The demon general said with a grin.

"**Ditto."**

* * *

Alciel flinched as the wind blew fiercely from behind him, spinning around to see the surprising sight of his lord and the traitor Lucifer.

The reptilian demon was already charging his attack by the time Satan grabbed him by the wrist, his expression serious.

"**Alciel. He's back. You're not the only remaining demon general anymore."**

Alciel looked back to Lucifer with shock in his eyes, the latter folding his arms while sticking his tongue out at the reptilian general.

Despite this, Alciel only smiled.

"_Glad things are back to the way they used to be..." _He muttered mentally.

"**I miss Malacoda and Adramelech..." **Satan whimpered with a sob.

"_Alright not EXACTLY the way they used to be..."_

Lucifer patted the Devil's armored shoulder with contempt.

"Who knows, maybe they faked their deaths like I did!" He said, trying to comfort his friend and leader.

"**You think!?"** The Devil replied with a little too much enthusiasm, appearing very childlike despite his dark tone of voice.

"**Wait... is that a good thing or a bad thing?"**

All three demons raised their thumb and forefinger to their chin as they pondered, all the while the battle behind them raging.

* * *

Olba cursed as Emilia's blade grazed the right side of his exposed torso, a thin line of blood leaking out along with some of his holy magic, the latter drawn to the sword only empowering his opponent.

The nephilim was gaining her advantage, and gaining it fast. With each and every blow she could feel her magic returning, and it was just icing on the cake that they did quite a bit to damage to the old priest.

A few months ago she would see herself like this and be disgusted. But this man was no longer her friend or her comrade. He abandoned her here only to return to kill her afterwards.

But this wasn't the only thing that her past self would of notice changed.

Her fighting style and attitude was becoming far more assertive, she took more chances while at the same time taking less blows, her movements were becoming faster, more accurate. Time seemed to slow down every time the old man attacked, making it far easier to dodge his sorry attempts at punching and his not-so-sorry attempts at making her explode.

She felt lighter, her body seemed to react instantly to everything, her senses enhanced beyond description. She had used her what she now knew as a nephilim state during key moments in battle, of course, but never before for this long. She had held back the form since her arrival on Earth in fear of losing magic but if anything it seemed that the only magic she lost was from trying to repress it.

Emilia, while fighting began to wonder.

Did she want to go back? Could she honestly say that she preferred being human?

Olba was losing hope.

He was a high priest, an elite magic user of the holy church of Ente Isla, the land watched over by the divine, but even with all his status and all his magicks he was losing this battle.

His robes were torn, his skinny, wrinkly pale torso was now exposed, littered with various cuts, bruises and wounds. His holy light was able to keep him from collapsing of blood loss but that was about all it could do at this point. With each and every cut he healed a new one took it's place, all the while his magic being drained by the sword.

He came to this world with such high hopes, such ambitions.

He would kill the Devil, and tie up loose ends by killing the Hero as well, and in doing so he would return home a hero, bathed in medals, titles and secretly maybe treat himself to a whore or two.

But the reality was the situation he now faced was _far_ from what he was hoping for. He had succeeded in killing the Devil, only for the monster to return and summon him to a realm where he wouldn't have to hold back. His so called partner, the fallen angel Lucifer, was now off somewhere getting beat to a pulp by the demon king while the same happened to him by the little girl he once fed in her imprisonment at the church.

Olba's thoughts were interrupted as Emila charged at him, the tip of her sword aimed for his head. In what seemed like a miracle the priest managed to dodge the oncoming attack, the nephilim shooting past him and disappearing into a nearby clearing of trees.

It was then he saw it.

For a split second, a bolt of lightning shooting downward as it passed, he saw it.

Dead ahead, about 50 feet away they stood, a trio of demonic spectators, their arms folded as they watched the battle progress with cruel, dark smiles displayed on their faces. Olba's face paled as he stared at the one on the left, his black-feathered wings sticking out from the pair, indicating to the old priest just who he was.

Lucifer's smile was wider than the rest's.

The fallen angel had returned to his former side.

It was then Olba realized just how doomed he now was.

His body was beaten and scarred, his so called partner went back to being a demon general, and it was only a matter of time before the Hero would kill him.

He had no choice.

Focussing all of his remaining magicks into his legs, the priest ran.

Once more he ran as fast as his old legs could carry him. He did not want to die here, murdered as a bloody corpse by a nephilim half-breed in this mirror realm.

Olba gasped as he burst through a clearing of trees, his indirected path twisting and contorting in hopes to throw off his sure-to-be pursuers. As the priest ran he began to see the strange sight of a multitude of ethereal ghosts, human beings with clothing from various eras now ran alongside him, masks of terror displayed on their transparent faces.

Turning around he knew why.

Behind him he approached slowly, calmly walking as if it was a midnight stroll despite the damage he was causing to his surroundings.

His black-flamed aura set the leafless trees ablaze before tearing them asunder in explosions of dirt and wood, the Devil not even leaving behind stumps in his wake.

The only detail of his expression the priest could see with his old eyes was his wide, toothy smile, pronounced long canines gnashed together like that of a feral beast. Satan took his time as he approached Olba, as if he had all the time in the world, and would take that time to enjoy the hunt.

The horrific sight only caused the priest to increase his already-straining pace, his heart nearly in his throat while he sprinted with wide, frantic, crazed eyes.

The Devil chuckled.

"**Where will you go priest?" **He asked mockingly, still calmly striding with a cruel smile displayed about his face. "**There's no back door to Limbo, theres millions of souls in this place and the only ones who have left have been judged."**

Olba ignored the mocking demon king as he leaped over a raised root, only to run over a large rock causing the old priest to collapse onto the dry mix of soil and concrete.

Straining under wounded muscles he managed to lift himself up, his eyes going wide with shock at what he saw.

Before him was the exact same plaza where the battle had begun, collapsed buildings filling it's circumference along with a multitude of leafless trees that led to the forrest he had thought he was escaping.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Alciel asked before sighing, shaking his head at the high priest. "Stupid human. Purgatory is endless. You'd think the one of the 7 of the council would know such things..."

"Really, why did I ever believe I could _work_ with such an idiot?" Lucifer said as he landed alongside his fellow demon general, a mocking grin aimed at the confused priest.

"Though I don't need to worry about that _now_ do I...?" He added as his grin intensified.

Olba scowled. "Why you... I swear to _God_ I'll-"

"**You'll **_**what**_**, Olba?"** Satan said with a sneer before frowning, a dark expression playing about his face. "**And I'd be careful throwing **_**that**_** name around, it'll just make me want to break my promise and slaughter you myself..."**

The old priest's core went cold as the Devil's dark flames flared, growing slightly larger in the process.

"Well, it's a good thing _I'm_ here to make sure you keep your promise then isn't it...?"

All eyes turned to the approaching nephilim, her long silver hair blowing in the hot breeze, her blood-red eyes staring holes into her former comrade's form.

Satan smiled as he backed off, his flaming black aura receding back into him as he returned to his generals on a nearby rooftop, summoning a grand chair the Hero could recognize as his very own throne.

"**Yea yea don't worry **_**Hero**_**. We'll just be peaceful spectators from hereon out."** The Devil said as he sat down onto his throne in a disgustingly familiar non-chalant fashion, his cheek resting upon a light clawed fist while one leg crossed slightly over the other.

"**Can't imagine this fight's gonna last much longer anyways..."**

"I don't know..." Emilia began as once more her gaze fell upon her betrayer, the traitor trembling all the while.

"I may want to take my time with this." She stated coldly, earning her an unnoticed smile from the demon king.

"_**Is it wrong that I like her better this way...?"**_ Satan thought to himself, inwardly hoping that Emilia would stay said way forever, before remembering what he had seen while his body was destroyed, his expression suddenly turning very dark. "_**It doesn't matter. I'll indulge her for now, but if she gets in my way, she dies."**_

Olba scanned his surroundings, as impossible as they seemed.

How, how could he have run through all that forrest, and only end up in the same place he started? He knew for a fact he hadn't just run in a giant circle, or at least he desperately hoped that was not the case.

"_Oi, bald bastard."_

Olba's gaze quickly shot back to a frowning Emilia, his attention sudden piqued at his new apparent nickname.

"B-Bald... b-bastard...? He asked shakily, a small amount of rage filling his being.

"You heard me." Emilia responded, swinging her sword to her side. "Since you're not going to be alive for much longer, I think I'll give you a few free chances." She continued in a somewhat challenging tone.

"F-Free... chances?" Olba asked, a small smile forming upon his cracked lips.

"_This is my chance"_

"I'm a gracious girl, so I'll give you thre-"

"THEN I'LL TAKE THEM!" Olba shouted as he lunged a magic-infused fist (The most he could manage at this point.) towards an indifferent Emilia, the latter quickly sidestepping the pathetic attempt at an attack before countering with a quick slash at both of the priest's elbows, deep bloodied cuts exploding along them.

The priest screamed in agony at his now crippled joints, Emilia merely continued to speak.

"But every time you fail to hit me, I'll hit you. You have two more tries."

"T-That's not how free shots w-work!" The priest whined, his arms falling at his sides with thick crimson running along their length below the elbow.

"Are you really in a position to _complain?"_ The nephilim asked while tilting her head.

Olba gritted his teeth as his mind surged, his temples popping throbbing veins as he focussed what was the last of the magic he had left into his left hand, his fingertips emitting a faint golden aura while blue wisp-like magical tendrils wrapped around them before they shot off, an strong electrical current empowering them as they literally bolted towards a stationary Emilia.

Right before the bolt of energy hit her she vanished, Olba coughing out blood while once more screaming in utter agony as he felt Emilia's better half tear through the back of his knees, collapsing painfully onto the cracked pavement with a large _thud_ and a sickening _crack._

The three demonic spectators watched from above, the leader of the trio smiling with utter interest at the battle.

"_**If you can even call it one anymore...**_" The demon king thought to himself with no small amount of amusement. Just a few months prior the two before him had been a team, desperate in their fight against him and his demonic army. But now they fought amongst themselves, and the victor was obvious. "_**How easily things change..."**_ He thought to himself, inwardly chuckling at fate's sense of humor.

"One more try, baldy. Make it count."

Olba sat with his arms and legs limp, while not completely immobile the limbs were useless as any attempted movement would send shocking pains throughout the priest's severely wounded joints. Though despite this the priest managed to raise himself slightly, his head slowly raising to face Emilia.

Shakily his cracked lips began to move, muttering his final words in ente islan.

"_Go...to...Hell..."_ He managed to curse before spitting a thick glob of blood onto Emilia's chin, the highest the he could reach.

"I'll take that as your final try." Emilia stated coldly as she wiped the blood off, proceeding to step behind the priest before pressing her foot against his back, forcing him to kneel execution-style as she raised her sword like a guillotine high above his neck.

The nephilim took a few swings in preparation, lowering the blade before raising it back up, doing this two to three times before settling it in it's original position.

"Are you ready, baldy...?" Emilia asked as she raised _Better Half_ slightly higher into the air, the blue sun of Limbo shining odd-colored rays of light along it's blade.

Olba closed his eyes as he heard the sword slice through the wind, a small current of which shooting to the right side of his head with a loud _thunk._

Slowly the old priest opened his lids, the light temporarily blinding his vision before fading away, revealing the confusing sight of _Better Half_ protruding from the concrete beside his head, his expression of utter shock revealed by his reflection in it's silver blade.

"_W-Wha...?" _He managed to mutter before the nephilim lifted his head, bringing her face closer to his left ear as she spoke.

"I wont kill you." She stated coldly, a small flicker of hope beginning to form in the priest's core before she continued.

"A quick death is too good for you."

The Devil watched with unmatched curiosity as he saw Emilia swing her sword just to the right of the old priest's head, his slightly pointed ears picking up the words the nephilim had spoken to him before she turned to face him, a surprisingly dark expression playing about her face.

"_Oi, demon king!" _She shouted to the throned Devil, his expression of shock quickly shifting back into it's usual darkly sarcastic self.

"**What is it, **_**Hero?"**_He asked, unable to hide his curiosity despite his tone.

"You said that most of the rumors the humans say about you are true, right?"

"**Yes...?"**

"Well then, _Devil,_ you have my permission to prove it to me."

Satan's eyes widened as he began to understand where the nephilim was going with her indirect request.

"_Prove to me the most horrible of them all."_ She stated coldly.

The Devil could not contain himself as a crazed smile spread across his face, quickly lifting himself off of his demonic throne before jumping off the roof of the collapsed building, the ground below him shattering in a shockwave as he landed before teleporting next to Emilia, his eyes wide and his grin even wider.

"**I LOVE YOU!" **He screamed enthusiastically, his voice echoing throughout all of Limbo.

"**I LOVE YOU LIKE THIS!"** He continued, pacing back and forth in short distances making waving gestures with his hands. "**YOU'RE JUST ACTING SO AWESOME WORDS SIMPLY CAN'T DESCRIBE TH- I- YES!" **He finished with an honest formal bow, surprising the nephilim with the amount of respect the demon king was showing.

"**I shall do as you ask, my lady."**

Nearby on the rooftop, Alciel nearly fainted, with Lucifer leaning over the edge with a extreme amount of surprise in his widening eyes.

Despite her earlier cold composure, Emilia's face was now quickly reddening, forcing the nephilim to turn away from the demon king to hide her flustered disposition.

"J-Just... get it over with..." She said shakily.

"_**Gladly."**_ He growled, shocking the nephilim with his tone. If there was a limit to how dark, how terrifying the Devil's voice could get, he had broken it.

Just hearing it made her grip on _Better Half_ tighten.

"_**6th gate... released."**_

The wind howled loudly as Satan burst in an explosion of black flames, red bolts of lightning shooting around him as he began to walk slowly over to the fallen priest.

"**Olba Meyer..." **The Devil began, the priest looking up in terror at what he saw.

Judging by the looks on the faces of the Hero and two demon generals, they did not see it. Olba wished he had that luxury.

What he saw wasn't some demon dressed in regal armor.

What he saw was a Devil.

His once dark teal hair was now an ashen grey, his bronze contorted horns brightened to a polished stainless gold. His eyes were now completely red, devoid of slitted pupils or sclera, leaving them to appear as doorways to a fiery void.

The Devil's skin was now pitch black, similar to the night though without stars, a thin equally black smoke steaming off of it's surface. His bat-like wings now expanded freely, growing three times their normal size though with an added purple hue to their torn webbing.

Each step the monster took left flaming hoof prints in his wake.

"**Olba Meyer..." **The Devil continued, his dark voice poking holes into the priest's soul.

"**I see all of your sins before you..." **He growled, evermore approaching the frightened Olba.

"**Greed, Lust for women and even more so for power, Murder, Betrayal..."**

Satan took a moment to inhale heavily through his nostrils, Olba shivered as he felt his body go cold while his shadow stretched slightly towards the Devil.

"**You've sinned, priest. You've sinned alot."**

"_I-I... I..."_ Olba tried to speak, but the words could not escape his throat, his entire body petrified in utter terror.

For a split second the priest blinked, and when he opened his eyes he came to see the Devil standing directly in front of him.

"_I-"_ Once more Olba tried to speak, but before the words could escape his throat a sharp chill ran down his spine, before focussing into his chest, the Devil's claws reaching into it like it were mist.

"_**You feel that, priest...?" **_Olba could not even move as he heard the dark voice in his thoughts, his eyes wide and his jaw loose. "_**That coldness you feel? That's me, taking hold of your soul..."**_

Emilia watched as Satan stood next to the cowardly priest, his shadow in an odd position as it loomed over him.

In reality, or atleast reality for Olba, the monstrous Devil had taken hold of his very soul, his grip slowly tightening around the priest's ethereal life source.

"_**I shouldn't be able to do this to a high priest..."**_ He said, his voice making the priest's insides feel all the colder. "_**I'll let you guess as to what that means..."**_

"**Actually, I won't." **The Devil teased as he tore out the priest's soul from his very core. "**You see priest, you've sinned too much..."**

Satan frowned as he pulled his face closer to Olba's, his grip further tightening around the priest's soul.

"_**The Divine has forsaken you."**_

Olba wanted to scream, but he found that he no longer had any control over his body, unable to even blink as his form became enveloped by the Devil's black flames, the pain indescribable.

"**And that leaves you for me."**

With a snap of Satan's fingers they came, flaming skeletal hands bursting from the ground beneath the priest as they began to climb along him, tugging and pulling his motionless body into the fiery pit forming below him.

"**I told you, didn't I...?" **The Devil began as his black smoking hand slowly continued to tighten around the priest's soul, adding to the already unbelievable agony he now experienced. "_**I told you that in the end you'd know Hell..."**_

Olba's eyes widened as Satan crushed the soul, black sand pouring from between his fingers.

As the skeletal hands pulled the last of him into the inferno, Olba heard the last words he would ever hear, the words that would linger on in his mind for the rest of his eternal damnation.

"_**Your soul is MINE priest."**_

* * *

"It's... done?" Emilia asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

"**It's done. I'll make sure he receives special treatment."**

"Special treatment...?"

"**It's not exactly a good thing to get down there."**

Emilia's expression suddenly went dark. "Good."

"_**Awesome..."**_ Satan muttered under his breath.

"What was that...?" Emilia asked with an arched eyebrow, a wan smile spreading across her lips.

"I said we should go check on Chi-chan."

"No you didn't! Lucifer yelled as he landed alongside the demon king along with Alciel, his black wings leaving behind black feathers as they retreated back into his leather coat.

"You said she wa-UMPH!" The fallen angel was interrupted as Satan socked him in the gut, causing the demon general to lurch over in pain.

"Are you sure you made the right choice keeping him...?" Emilia asked.

"**Oi, I made my choice with what to do to my traitor and you made yours."**

The nephilims eyes glazed over for a moment, despite his betrayal the priest was her only friend when she was the church's captive. It would be a lie to say that she didn't feel a tad bit sad over his damnation.

"Let's just go check on the girl." She said glumly, walking back towards the clearing of collapsed buildings, an unconscious Chiho Sasaki leaning peacefully against one of the leafless trees of purgatory, an odd amount of mushrooms and multi-toned purple grass surrounding the sleeping teen.

"**What the..."** Satan said as he noticed the odd plant life around the girl.

"What is it?" Emilia asked, a little disturbed by the demon's king tone, one that suggested something was wrong.

"**That grass, those mushrooms... they shouldn't be there..."**

"What does that mean? What are you talking about_...?"_

The Devil didn't answer, instead kneeling down as he plucked a cap from one of the strange mushrooms, slowly turning it around in his grip, inspecting it with an odd glare before his eyes widened slightly.

"What is it?" Emilia asked noticing the expression displayed on the demon king's face.

"**This fungi... it's a form of residue, a mix of it actually..."**

"Residue?" Alciel asked, suddenly interested in the conversation. "What kind my lord?"

"**Magical."** Satan replied, his face going pale. "**Specifically that of Ente Isla..."**

All three faces turned in shock at the demon king before their gazes fell upon the girl who still lied peacefully against the tree.

"D-Does that mean..." Lucifer began, his voice trembling.

"**Yeah, she's been there." **He stated as he kneeled back down, beginning to erase the girl's memory before being assaulted by a multitude of questions he didn't quite have the answers to.

"What!?"

"How!?"

"When!?

"DIE DEMON KING!"

All faces turned to face the sound of the voice, Emilia a little quicker than the others as she instantly recognized it.

"ALBERTIO!?" She screamed with delight and confusion, leaping into a hug with the brawler who quickly caught her, though not returning the embrace as he placed her to his side, readying his fists while facing the demonic trio.

Satan sighed.

"**They're multiplying..." **He muttered as he raised his palm, a black and purple ball of energy forming within it aimed at a hostile Albertio.

"Don't!" Emilia yelled as she aimed the tip of _Better Half_ at the demon king from behind the brawler, the latter's eyes widening in confusion as Satan reluctantly complied with a sigh, his palm lowering while ordering an angered Alciel to do the same.

"He... listened to you...?" Albertio asked half-astonished.

"**Only so you could tell your **_**friend**_** here to remove that knife of her's from my general's throat..."** Satan replied, his head nudging in the direction of a hovering Emeralda who pressed a small serrated dagger against Lucifer's neck, the fallen angel displaying a nonchalant expression onto his bored face.

The brawler nodded, Emeralda quickly floating over to his side before waving enthusiastically to Emilia.

"**Now then, let me guess, you're here to pick up Emilia, and hope to kill me while I'm here?"**

Emeralda shook her head before replying in her iconic monotoned voice.

"We actually just came for her, though it'd be nice if you could just drop dead for us."

Satan smiled evilly.

"**Not happening."**

Emilia turned to face her comrades, her expression warm while her tone sounded sad.

"You guys came... for me?"

"Well, that and to warn you about... WAIT WHERES OLBA!?" Albertio yelled in shock, mentally slapping himself for forgetting before once more readying his fists, searching his strange new surroundings.

"**Suffering eternal torment in the fiery pits of Hell."** Satan said nonchalantly, waving it off as if it were no big deal.

"Oh..." The brawler said, his tone beginning to match that of Emilia's. "Well then... that solves that..." He stated glumly. "But still, we need you to come with us Emilia. Ente Isla is spiraling into chaos, the church has been gaining more and more power ever since you left. The people need their Hero."

"I wish I could but..." Emilia began before nudging her head in the direction of the demon king, who had been listening intently to the entire conversation with a mischievous grin spread about his lips.

"What about him...?" She finished with a sigh.

"**I'll make it easy for you." **The Devil stated, slowly walking over to the nephilim and two humans, easily towering over the trio.

"**If you leave, I'll be going with you. And with my generals I'll start all over again.**

**Though this time..."**

Satan took a moment to lean his face toward's Albertio's, his red eyes sending chills down the man's spine.

"**...I won't **_**hold back**_**."**

Albertio gulped as he watched the demon king walk back to his generals, turning to face his former enemies with a mocking smile.

"**Let's just let that sink in, eh?"** He laughed before he and his generals disappeared in an explosion of purple light, the area suddenly feeling a bit warmer with the Devil's departure.

"It seems the demon king is still himself..." Emeralda said while lowering herself to the ground, her bare feet hitting cold pavement without a sound.

"I'm not so sure..." Emilia mumbled, mostly to herself, though it was not unheard by her companions.

"What do you mean?" Albertio and Emeralda asked in unison with heavy curiosity.

"N-Nothing!" The Hero replied, faking a smile while she discarded the memory of the conversation she and the demon king had before the battle.

All three covered their eyes as a bright flash of light erupted around them, fading away to reveal a perfectly fine and repaired plaza, no elements of purgatory remaining within it as civilians casually strolled past the oddly-dressed trio.

"Well maybe he has changed in some ways..." Albertio said, trailing off in wonder at the sights around him before turning back to Emilia with a disappointed look in his golden eyes.

"I guess this means you're not coming then, huh?" He asked, remembering what the demon king had said before disappearing.

The Hero shook her head.

"I won't risk another war just to go home. I'm sorry but for now you guys will have to deal with the church yourselves..." She said sadly, her gaze falling to her feet.

"In the end I guess it's for the best..." The brawler mumbled as he threaded his hand through his short white hair. "Damn that demon king. While you're here you better make that life of his one ironical hell."

"Way ahead of you." Emilia replied with a smile, the trio sharing a quick embrace before the two humans departed, waving their goodbyes as they looked for a safe location to open the gate.

* * *

Emilia sighed as she walked through the front door to her apartment, closing it behind her before collapsing onto the nearby couch with a sigh.

"Such a long day..." She mumbled as her eyelids slowly began to fall. "So tired..."

Her vision had nearly completely faded by the time she heard it, a faint banging sound rang through her apartment, a normal human would assume that it was the floor above their own, but Emilia was no normal human, she could tell someone was nearby.

Summoning her _Better Half_ she crouched into a stealthy position, listening intently for another sound.

This time the noise was much clearer, Emilia recognizing it as the sound of someone rummaging through drawers, before hearing a small slam as they closed.

Now realizing where the noise was coming from she did a silent roll over to her bathroom door, noticing the light reaching through the space underneath the door she grabbed the handle with her free hand, leaning against the wall next to it as she prepared to barge through.

Mentally counting to three, she tore the door open, jumping in shock at what she saw.

Standing in the middle of her washroom staring into the mirror was a partially-transformed Maou, toothbrush in hand.

"What are you doing!?" Emi screamed, clapping her hand over her mouth when she remembered the time of night it was.

"_What are you doing!?"_ She repeated in an angry whisper.

"Brushing my horns." Maou replied non-chalantly, staring at the flustered nephilim with an indifferent look on his face. "You won't believe how dirty these things can get. Though I will admit it mostly started with me admiring my newly repaired horn."

"No!" Emi yelled, just loud enough to get her point across without waking her neighbors. "I mean what are you doing in my apartment!?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you...?" Maou began, his expression remaining indifferent to the nephilim's anger.

"I'm going to be living here from now on."

* * *

**Next chap will be delayed due to me starting the first chapter of the side story, don't worry it'll probably be fairly short so it won't be take too long.**

**Also MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NON-CANON CLIFF HANGER AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHA**

(Somebody please help me I can't edit without these things randomly appearing V)

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